China condemns Mike Pompeo's 'arrogance' on 30th anniversary of Tiananmen Square crackdown
China on Tuesday slammed Mike Pompeo for "lunatic ravings and babbling nonsense" after the US secretary of state criticised Beijing's human rights record in a statement issued on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Pompeo's statement "maliciously attacks China's political system, denigrates the state of China's human rights and religious affairs, wantonly criticises China's Xinjiang policy and severely interferes in China's domestic affairs", foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a regular press briefing.
"These lunatic ravings and babbling nonsense will only end up in the trash can of history."
Mr Pompeo made his comments the day before the anniversary of the June 4, 1989 bloodshed.
In a sign of further strain between China and the US, Beijing on Tuesday issued a travel warning for America, saying Chinese visitors have been interrogated, interviewed and subjected to other forms of what it called harassment by US law enforcement agencies.
The warning urges Chinese citizens and Chinese-funded bodies in the US to step up their safety awareness and preventative measures and respond "appropriately and actively".
The warning comes amid an increasingly bitter trade dispute between the sides and tougher immigration enforcement by the Trump administration.
Also on Tuesday, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued its own travel alert for the US, noting the high frequency of shootings, robberies and theft in the country. Chinese students abroad were also urged Monday to assess the risks involved given tightened visa restrictions.
Beijing has gone to exhaustive lengths to prevent commemorations of the crackdown in which hundreds of unarmed civilians, and possibly more than 1,000, were killed when China sent tanks and troops into Tiananmen Square to crush a student-led movement.
Mr Pompeo's intervention on Monday night triggered a response from Beijing's embassy in Washington. A spokesperson at the embassy said in a statement that whoever attempts "to patronize and bully the Chinese people... will only end up in the ash heap of history."
The spokesperson said Mr Pompeo had used "the pretext of human rights" for a statement that "grossly intervenes in China's internal affairs, attacks its system, and smears its domestic and foreign policies.
"This is an affront to the Chinese people and a serious violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations. The Chinese side expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to it."
The Chinese statement referred only to "the political incident of the late 1980s," and said China's government and people long ago "reached the verdict" on it.
"China's human rights are in the best period ever," the embassy said.
"China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development and to the development of human rights in China and the whole world, and has made significant contribution to the international human rights governance. This is a fact that is recognized by all unbiased people."
