In a statement released on June 3, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio commemorated the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. He recalled the events of spring 1989 when thousands of students gathered in Beijing to mourn a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader who had advocated for more openness and democracy in China. This gathering inspired a broader national movement, with hundreds of thousands across China demonstrating for democracy, human rights, and an end to corruption.
The response from the CCP was a forceful crackdown. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was deployed to suppress these pro-democracy demonstrations through violence against unarmed civilians both on Beijing's streets and in Tiananmen Square.
Rubio emphasized that despite attempts by the CCP to censor these events, they remain indelible in global memory. "The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget," he stated. He paid tribute to those who lost their lives trying to exercise fundamental freedoms and acknowledged those who continue to face persecution while seeking justice for June 4, 1989.
Rubio remarked on the universal nature of principles such as freedom and democracy, stating: "Their courage in the face of certain danger reminds us that the principles of freedom, democracy, and self-rule are not just American principles. They are human principles the CCP cannot erase."