China clamps down ahead of Tiananmen anniversary
source: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/world/20090602_ap_chinaclampsdownaheadoftiananmen...
-
-
- juxzta1
- added this
BEIJING - Chinese authorities have forced a former government adviser from Beijing and detained a veteran dissident in a clampdown ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, reports said Tuesday.
Exiled former student leader Chai Ling, meanwhile, issued a rare public statement before Thursday's anniversary of the bloody crackdown, calling for the release of political prisoners, an independent investigation into the events and permission for former student leaders to return home.
"The current generation of leaders who bear no responsibility should have the courage to overturn the verdicts" on the protests, said Chai, in a statement distributed by the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
China has never allowed an independent investigation into the military's crushing of the protests, in which possibly thousands of students, activists and ordinary citizens were killed. The subject remains taboo on the mainland, with officials routinely countering questions about Tiananmen with remarks on how much China has developed and prospered in the years since.
"The party and the government long ago reached a conclusion about the political incident that took place at the end of the 1980s and related issues," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regularly scheduled news conference Tuesday.
The government refers to the protests as "counterrevolutionary" riots.
Exiled former student leader Chai Ling, meanwhile, issued a rare public statement before Thursday's anniversary of the bloody crackdown, calling for the release of political prisoners, an independent investigation into the events and permission for former student leaders to return home.
"The current generation of leaders who bear no responsibility should have the courage to overturn the verdicts" on the protests, said Chai, in a statement distributed by the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
China has never allowed an independent investigation into the military's crushing of the protests, in which possibly thousands of students, activists and ordinary citizens were killed. The subject remains taboo on the mainland, with officials routinely countering questions about Tiananmen with remarks on how much China has developed and prospered in the years since.
"The party and the government long ago reached a conclusion about the political incident that took place at the end of the 1980s and related issues," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regularly scheduled news conference Tuesday.
The government refers to the protests as "counterrevolutionary" riots.
-
- groups:
- Politics, Culture, World News, US News
-
- tags:
- Politics, Culture, World News, US News, 1 more
