2nd UPDATE:China Dissatisfied With Clinton's Tiananmen Remarks
(Adds more quotes, background)
BEIJING (AFP)--China Thursday voiced "strong dissatisfaction" over U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's call for Beijing to publish the names of
those killed or missing in the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989.
"The U.S. remarks, which disregard the facts, make groundless accusations
against the Chinese government," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told
reporters at a regular briefing.
"We express strong dissatisfaction to that. We urge the U.S. to put aside its
political prejudices and correct its mistakes so as to refrain from undermining
bilateral relations."
Clinton Wednesday urged China to publish the names of those killed 20 years
ago or who went missing and called for the release of prisoners still detained
for taking part in the peaceful pro-democracy protests.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, lost their lives when China's army opened fire on
unarmed protesters in Beijing the night of June 3-4, 1989, but the government
has never given a full, detailed account of the casualties.
"A China that has made enormous progress economically and is emerging to take
its rightful place in global leadership should examine openly the darker events
of its past and provide a public accounting of those killed, detained or
missing, both to learn and to heal," Clinton said in a statement.
Qin further called those comments "a gross interference in Chinese internal
affairs."
Clinton also urged China to end harassment of the Tiananmen Mothers, a group
of bereaved relatives campaigning to know more about the incident and for
authorities to bring those responsible to justice.
The U.S. Congress made a similar appeal in a nearly unanimous resolution
approved the day before.
China has imposed a security clampdown to stop any event marking Thursday's
anniversary in the face of renewed calls to account for the bloodshed, with tens
of thousands of people expected to rally in cities around the world.
Security was extremely tight on Tiananmen Square as police officers searched
bags and even the pockets of thousands of Chinese and foreign tourists streaming
through checkpoints to visit the giant plaza.
Foreign journalists were barred from entering, and an AFP TV journalist was
ordered by police to delete footage from his camera.
China also has attempted to prevent any public discussion or remembrance of
the events of June 1989 by blocking access to social networking Web sites like
Twitter, blacking out some foreign news reports and hiding away key dissidents.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-04-090441ET
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