State Department rips China on Tiananmen Square anniversary: Hopes of a more open, tolerant society ‘have been dashed’

The State Department condemned China’s one-party communist system for human rights abuses and intolerance toward dissent on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. 

“Over the decades that followed, the United States hoped that China’s integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerant society. Those hopes have been dashed,” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a statement. 

Pompeo’s statement calls out China’s “new wave of abuses,” including the the detention of Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang at so-called re-education camps.

{mosads}Foreign experts estimate as many as 1 million Muslims have been placed into the programs, which Chinese officials likened to “boarding schools,” according to The New York Times. 

“Even as the party builds a powerful surveillance state, ordinary Chinese citizens continue to seek to exercise their human rights, organize independent unions, pursue justice through the legal system, and simply express their views, for which many are punished, jailed, and even tortured,” Pompeo said in his Monday statement. 

Pompeo also urged the Chinese government to make a “full, public accounting” of those killed or missing. 

During the June 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, protesters seeking social freedom were forcibly suppressed. Pompeo called the protesters “heroes” who inspired future generations to call for freedom and democracy around the world. 

“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 freedom,” Pompeo said.