US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 4 June commemorated the 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, declaring that ‘no amount of censorship can erase the past’ as he accused the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of continuing to suppress memory of the 1989 bloodshed. The statement, issued from Washington on the eve of the June 4 anniversary, was paired with a parallel rebuke from the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).

What Rubio said

In his statement, Rubio said the CCP had ordered troops to attack ‘thousands of peaceful demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square’ in 1989. ‘Chinese students, workers, and other civilians who lost their lives had gathered to exercise their natural rights and demand democratic reforms and accountability for corruption,’ he said.

‘We remember their lives and honour their legacy,’ Rubio added. ‘No amount of censorship can erase the past.’ He further said those who died defending free expression and peaceful assembly ‘will be vindicated someday’.

Congressional commission joins in

The CECC statement, issued jointly by its chairs Senator Dan Sullivan and Representative Chris Smith, sharpened the criticism. ‘Thirty-seven years after tanks rolled into Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party still refuses to answer the most basic question: Why were peaceful calls for freedom and reform met with bullets and bloodshed?’ the lawmakers said.

‘Today, we remember what the CCP still tries to erase,’ they added, paying tribute to ‘the students, workers, journalists, and ordinary citizens who demanded free speech and an end to corruption — and paid for that courage with their lives and liberty’.

Hong Kong crackdown in focus

The commission linked the anniversary to the steady erosion of civil liberties in Hong Kong, where public vigils for Tiananmen victims have been banned and organisers jailed. It called for the release of Jimmy Lai, Chow Hang-tung, Gwyneth Ho, Joshua Wong and Lee Cheuk-yan, all imprisoned in connection with peaceful remembrance activities.

‘On this anniversary, we call for an end to the CCP's censorship and denial about the events of June 4, 1989 and the release of those imprisoned for peaceful remembrance in Hong Kong,’ the statement said. The lawmakers also pledged annual commemorations ‘until the people of China and Hong Kong can do so freely, without fear, punishment, or restriction’.

Why the anniversary still matters

The Tiananmen protests began in the spring of 1989 as a student-led movement seeking political reform, broader freedoms and action against graft. The demonstrations drew in workers and residents across Beijing and other cities before the military cleared the square on June 4. Beijing has never released a full public accounting of the death toll, and the subject remains among the most tightly censored topics inside China.

What happens next

Governments, rights groups and exiled activists are expected to mark the anniversary with vigils and statements worldwide, even as on-the-ground commemoration in mainland China and Hong Kong remains effectively prohibited. The renewed US pressure — from both the State Department and a bipartisan congressional body — signals that Tiananmen will remain a recurring flashpoint in the broader US-China rights debate.