FILE – In this early June 4, 1989 photo, civilians with rocks stand on a government armored vehicle near Chang'an Boulevard in Beijing as violence escalated between pro-democracy protesters and Chinese troops. VOA
He said that in the three decades since the incident was televised throughout the world, the U.S. had "hoped that China's integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerant society."
But Pompeo said "those hopes have been dashed. China's one-party state tolerates no dissent and abuses human rights whenever it serves its interests. Today, Chinese citizens have been subjected to a new wave of abuses, especially in Xinjiang, where the Communist Party leadership is methodically attempting to strangle Uighur culture and stamp out the Islamic faith, including through the detention of more than one million members of Muslim minority groups."
He added, "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."
China on Sunday defended its harsh suppression of the Tiananmen pro-democracy protesters, saying it was "the correct policy."
Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, in answering a question posed at a conference in Singapore, said "there was a conclusion to that incident. That was a political turmoil that the central government needed to quell. The government was decisive in stopping the turbulence. That was the correct policy."
