China hits back at ‘arrogant’ Mike Pompeo after US Secretary of State attacks at human rights record on Tiananmen anniversary
- Pompeo’s criticisms of ‘dark chapter in history’ echoed by European diplomats who urge Beijing to allow its citizens to mark the occasion
- China’s embassy in Washington claims human rights are in ‘best period ever’ after secretary of state’s attacks Beijing’s record to mark June 4 crackdown
China has accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of “prejudice and arrogance” after he issued a vehement condemnation of China’s human rights record on the 30th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on protesters calling for democracy.
“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,” Pompeo said in a statement issued at 12.01am Beijing time, almost 30 years to the hour after tanks rolled through the capital’s centre to clear protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square.
Since the crackdown – the death toll of which remains unknown but is estimated to be in the hundreds, possibly more than 1,000 – the US had “hoped that China’s integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerant society”, Pompeo said.
“Those hopes have been dashed,” Pompeo, currently on a tour of Europe, continued. “China’s one-party state tolerates no dissent and abuses human rights whenever it serves its interests.”