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China reprimanded US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the remarks he made on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest.
Mr. Pompeo criticized China's record of human rights and asked him to disclose the number of people who died in the crackdown.
A spokesman for the Chinese Embbady in Washington said his remarks were "an affront to the Chinese people."
In 1989, a major political demonstration in Beijing triggered a brutal crackdown by the communist authorities.
The Chinese government has never said how many people died on Tiananmen Square, although estimates range from hundreds to thousands.
On Monday, Pompeo urged China to "report publicly and in detail on those killed or missing to comfort the many victims of this dark chapter in history."
He also accused China of "[abusing] human rights every time it serves its interests ", citing the example of China's repression of its Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region.
Pompeo said "US hopes have been broken" to see China become "a more open and tolerant society" through greater global integration.
On Tuesday, in a rare public reference to Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Embbady said China had "delivered its verdict on the political incident of the late 1980s".
A spokesman said Mr Pompeo had "used the pretext of human rights" for a statement "blatantly interfering in China's internal affairs".
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AFP
Huge numbers had gathered at Tiananmen Square in the spring of 1989
He added that his remarks were marked by "prejudices and arrogance".
He also refuted Mr. Pompeo's comments on human rights in China, saying that they were currently in their "best time" and that anyone would try to "protect and brutalize the Chinese people." … would end only in the clutter of history ".
What happened in 1989?
More than one million pro-democracy demonstrators occupied Tiananmen Square in April 1989 and began the largest political demonstration in the history of communist China. It lasted six weeks.
On the night of June 3, tanks entered and troops opened fire, killing and wounding many unarmed people on and around Tiananmen Square.
The authorities then claimed that no one had been shot dead on the spot itself.
How is Tiananmen's birthday celebrated?
Around the world, dozens of gatherings are held to pay tribute to the victims and to call for change.
In Hong Kong – a semi-autonomous region of China – 180,000 people are expected to attend a candlelight vigil Tuesday night.
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Getty Images
Last year, thousands of people traveled to Hong Kong for the annual candlelight vigil in Tiananmen's honor
US House President Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to attend a rally in Washington DC later.
What is the situation in Beijing for the birthday?
China has never held official acts of commemoration for the Tiananmen Square protests.
Before the anniversary, Defense Minister Wei Fenghe made a rare mention of the protests at a regional forum in Singapore.
"This incident was a political turbulence and the central government took steps to end the turbulence, which is a correct policy," he said.
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He added that, thanks to the measures taken at the time by the government, "China enjoys stability and development".
Tuesday in Tiananmen Square even, in central Beijing, security remained strict, the police checking the identity cards of commuters leaving the subway station.
Many foreign journalists have not been allowed to visit the square. Those who were allowed to enter were warned not to take pictures.
China has intensified its routine censorship of all references to Tiananmen or 1989 in the perspective of the anniversary.
However, some in China remember the event in their own way.
Chen Wei is one of many activists who will fast Tuesday for 24 hours.
The former student organizer told the Guardian that fasting was the only thing that "could not be restricted" by the authorities.
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