Return power to people, embark on reform: Taiwan tells Beijing

Taiwan urged China on Thursday to return power to the people and embark on real political reform rather than avoid facing up to the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing.

Friday marks 32 years since Chinese troops opened fire to end the student-led unrest in and around the square.

Chinese authorities ban any public commemoration of the event on the mainland.

The government has never released a full death toll, but estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand.

The government of democratically ruled and Chineseclaimed Taiwan, in a statement on the anniversary’s eve, said Beijing was avoiding an apology over what had happened or reflection on its mistakes.

“We express regret, and call on the other side to implement people-centred political reforms, stop suppressing people’s democratic demands, and return power to the people as soon as possible,” the Taiwanese government said.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin dismissed comments about the anniversary.

“The great achievements made since the founding of new China more than 70 years ago fully demonstrate that China’s choice of development path is completely correct,” he said, referring to the founding of Communist China in 1949.