On the 36th anniversary of the violent crackdown against pro-democracy activists in China’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, exchanges between Washington and Beijing underscore the ongoing divide between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Western democratic principles. 

In a statement Tuesday evening, which corresponded to Wednesday morning in China, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that “the world will never forget” the CCP’s harsh actions as it “actively attempts to suppress the truth.”

“Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms,” Rubio said. “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.”

Tanks opened fire on unarmed crowds of pro-democracy demonstrators.

The extent of the massacre remains unknown, though hundreds were believed to have been killed, with some estimates ranging as high as 1,000 civilian deaths.

The CCP has since sought to cover up the crackdown by refusing to publicly acknowledge the tragedy, scrubbing online references and barring media coverage of the event.

Police officers stand at the fence in front of Tiananmen Square, the site of a massacre 36 years ago, on June 4, 2025, in Beijing. (Johannes Neudecker/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The communist leadership has acknowledged the anniversary by routinely ramping up security at the square, as well as the entrance to Wan’an Cemetery, where some of the victims of the attack were laid to rest, reported AFP.

Images of security forces lining Tiananmen Square again surfaced on Wednesday, though the square stood relatively empty.