The US on Friday urged China to free opponents and respect the basic rights of its citizens, 22 years after the authoritarian state crushed a democracy uprising in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
The anniversary comes amid another sweeping crackdown on dissent in China. Authorities have rounded up dozens of lawyers, writers and artists in recent months amid apparent unease over pro-democracy protests in the Arab world.
US Department of State spokesman Mark Toner called “for the release of all those detained, forcibly disappeared or placed under house arrest in -recent months as China has taken actions that are inconsistent with universally recognized rights.”
He also urged China to free citizens still serving sentences for peaceful participation in the Tiananmen Square protests.
‘PUBLIC ACCOUNTING’
“We ask the Chinese government to provide the fullest possible public accounting of those killed, detained or missing and to cease the ongoing harassment of those who participated in the demonstrations and the families of the victims,” Toner said in a statement.
He called on China “to protect the universal human rights of all its citizens, including those who peacefully express political views.”
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, are believed to have died when the government sent in tanks and soldiers to clear Tiananmen Square on the night of June 3-4, 1989, violently crushing six weeks of student-backed protests.
US Representative Nancy Pelosi, the leader of US President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party in the US House of Representatives and longtime advocate for human rights in China, saluted the protesters of Tiananmen.
‘ENDURING IMAGE’
“One of the most enduring images of the 20th century will forever be seared into our conscience — the picture of the lone man standing in the street, bringing the line of tanks to a grinding halt,” she said.
“Today, the spirit of Tiananmen lives on in the hearts and minds of those continuing the struggle both in China and abroad,” said Pelosi, whose district includes San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Pelosi called on China to specifically release a number of jailed or missing people: Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), outspoken artist Ai Weiwei (艾未未), activist Liu Xianbin (劉賢斌) and lawyers Tang Jitian (唐吉田), Teng Biao (滕彪), Jiang Tianyong (江天勇) and Gao Zhisheng (高智晟).
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation. “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he
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