Tensions between China and the United States over Tiananmen Square; Taiwan calls on Beijing to "face history"

China and the United States clashed again on Thursday over the Tiananmen Square crackdown, on the 37th anniversary of the 1989 events. Beijing strongly criticized the statements made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling them "defamatory," while Taiwan called on Chinese authorities to acknowledge their past.

In a statement released the previous day, Marco Rubio asserted that Chinese censorship could not erase the memory of the military intervention against pro-democracy protesters in Beijing. He also reiterated that those who participated in the demonstrations would, in his view, one day be rehabilitated, echoing a long-standing American diplomatic tradition of commemorating this event.

Chinese authorities reacted firmly. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning stated that Beijing had already drawn a "clear conclusion" about the events of the late 1980s and rejected the American accusations, arguing that they distorted historical facts and discredited the Chinese political system.

Chinese diplomacy also accused Washington of interfering in the country's internal affairs under the guise of defending human rights and democracy. Beijing reaffirmed its position on what it calls the "path of socialism with Chinese characteristics," in direct response to American criticism.

For its part, Taiwan seized the opportunity to call on China to "face history." In a context of already strained relations between Beijing and Taipei, this statement reflects a political stance emphasizing the distance between the island and the Chinese mainland.

In mainland China, the Tiananmen Square events remain a strictly taboo subject. All public commemoration is forbidden there, while vigils in tribute to the victims are held abroad, notably in Taipei and several Western capitals, where gatherings are organized every year despite diplomatic tensions.