China slams ‘clumsy political show’ after US consulate commemorates Tiananmen massacre
The Chinese foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong has reacted angrily to the U.S. Consulate General and European Union office in Hong Kong for both placing lit candles outside their office windows to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre on Friday.
A foreign ministry spokesperson described the act as a “clumsy political show” which meddled with Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs, on the pretext of upholding democracy and human rights.
“Any attempt to exploit Hong Kong to carry out infiltration or sabotage activities against the mainland crosses the red line and is absolutely intolerable,” the spokesperson said.
The U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong shared a photo on Facebook with candles visible at several windows of its office building. The consulate also shared a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken marking the June 4 anniversary.
“The Tiananmen demonstrations are echoed in the struggle for democracy and freedom in Hong Kong, where a planned vigil to commemorate the massacre in Tiananmen Square was banned by local authorities,” Blinken said.
The EU office in Hong Kong also shared a photo of lit candles in its office building along with the statement: “The European Union upholds universal human rights at home and calls for their respect across the world.”
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson pointed to racial discrimination, police violence and gun sales in the U.S. and advised that Western countries should “reflect upon their own problems earnestly.”
“So in what position can these countries, with such pathetic human rights records, hypocritically pass judgment on other countries’ internal affairs as self-proclaimed ‘champions of human rights’?” the spokesperson said.
This year marked the 32nd anniversary of the violent crackdown on demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. Hong Kong’s annual candlelight vigil was banned from proceeding this year, with the police citing the risk of spreading COVID-19.
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