China Accuses U.S. of 'Political Prejudice' Over Tiananman Square Statements

BEIJING (TheBlaze/AP) -- China has accused the United States of "political prejudice" after the State Department called on Beijing to fully account for those killed, detained or missing in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing's Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man, calling for an end to the recent violence and bloodshed against pro-democracy demonstrators, was pulled away by bystanders, and the tanks continued on their way. The Chinese government crushed a student-led demonstration for democratic reform and against government corruption, killing hundreds, or perhaps thousands of demonstrators in the strongest anti-government protest since the 1949 revolution. Ironically, the name Tiananmen means "Gate of Heavenly Peace." (Credit: AP/Jeff Widener)

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement that China urges the U.S. "to discard political prejudice and correctly treat China's development," according to the Xinhua News Agency's English service late Saturday.

The statement was not available on the Foreign Ministry's website or Xinhua's Chinese service.

Hong's statement was in response to a message by the U.S. State Department Friday on the upcoming 24th anniversary of the crushing of student-led pro-democracy protests. It said it was remembering "this tragic loss of innocent lives" and called on China to end the harassment of those who participated in the protests.

(Credit: AP)

(Credit: AP)

(Credit: AP)

The iconic footage of the man who stared down a line of tanks:

This stunning excerpt from a Frontline documentary demonstrates how little one group of contemporary Chinese university students knows about what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989: