China’s foreign ministry denounced U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday for “prejudice and arrogance” for urging Beijing to reveal the true death toll of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which turns 30 years old Tuesday.
China’s foreign ministry in Beijing and the Chinese embassy in Washington both issued remarks on Pompeo’s statement mourning the death in the event, in which Chinese Communist Party troops brutally suppressed a pro-democracy protest inspired by the fall of the Soviet Union and growing global optimism against tyranny.
“On June 3, 2019, the US side issued a statement on China in the name of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo out of prejudice and arrogance,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement posted on its website. “Under the pretext of human rights, the statement grossly intervenes in China’s internal affairs, attacks its system, and smears its domestic and foreign policies.”
The embassy calls Pompeo’s remarks “an affront to the Chinese people and a serious violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations.”
China’s official outpost in the country asserts that “China’s human rights are in the best period ever” and that, thanks to “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” Chinese people are thriving.
“The Chinese people have the best say on China. Their pursuit of a better life cannot be stopped by any force. Whoever attempt to patronize and bully the Chinese people in any name, or preach a ‘clash of civilizations’ to resist the trend of times will never succeed. They will only end up in the ash heap of history,” the statement concludes.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang responded to a question on Pompeo’s remarks by dismissing them.
“The Chinese people have seen their hypocrisy and evil motives,” Geng said, according to Reuters. “These lunatic ravings and babblings are destined for the garbage heap of history.”
He accused Pompeo of having “maliciously attacked China’s political system.”
“The hundreds of thousands of protesters who gathered in Beijing and in other cities around China suffered grievously in pursuit of a better future for their country,” Pompeo said in his written statement on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. “The number of dead is still unknown. We express our deep sorrow to the families still grieving their lost loved ones, including the courageous Tiananmen Mothers, who have never stopped seeking accountability, despite great personal risk.”
“China’s one-party state tolerates no dissent and abuses human rights whenever it serves its interests. Today, Chinese citizens have been subjected to a new wave of abuses,” he continued, highlighting the dire human rights situation in western Xinjiang, China, where the Communist Party has built concentration camps for Uighur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Muslim minorities. China has imprisoned between 1 million and 3 million people in these camps, according to experts monitoring the situation.
On Tiananmen specifically, Pompeo said, “We urge the Chinese government to make a full, public accounting of those killed or missing to give comfort to the many victims of this dark chapter of history. Such a step would begin to demonstrate the Communist Party’s willingness to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
“We call on China to release all those held for seeking to exercise these rights and freedoms, halt the use of arbitrary detention, and reverse counterproductive policies that conflate terrorism with religious and political expression,” his statement concluded. “China’s own constitution stipulates that all power belongs to the people. History has shown that nations are stronger when governments are responsive to their citizens, respect the rule of law, and uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
In addition to its attacks on Pompeo, the Chinese communist regime made the rare move of, rather than ignoring the event, actively defending the mass murders.
“That incident was a political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence which is a correct policy,” Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe said at a public speaking event on Sunday. “The 30 years have proven that China has undergone major changes China has enjoyed stability and development.”
Wei suggested that those who “visit China” would understand why the rampant murder of peaceful protesters was a positive event in Chinese history.
The country’s Global Times newspaper also defended the Tiananmen Square “incident,” calling it a “vaccination for Chinese society” that would “greatly increase China’s immunity against any major political turmoil in the future.”
Pro-democracy protesters took Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in June 1989 peacefully, waving posters calling for liberal democracy and an end to communist rule. The regime responded by sending armored vehicles and tanks into the square and running down as many protesters as possible, most young students. Many others were killed by gunfire.
There is no fixed death toll associated with the killings because the Chinese regime has refused to provide such information and censors journalists seeking the answer. A 2017 report suggests that the communists killed at least 10,000 during those protests, however, citing British diplomatic cables.
Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.