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<p>To mark the 30<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the tragic events in Tiananmen Square,
the Foreign Secretary released a statement remembering those who lost their lives
when protesting peacefully, and urging the Chinese Government to respect the rights
and freedoms enshrined in China’s constitution and in international law.</p><p> </p><p>The
British Government raises human rights with the Chinese authorities at all levels
and will continue to do so. I raised human rights concerns with State Councillor and
Foreign Minister Wang Yi during my last visit to China. We also raise issues publicly,
for example, we registered our concerns about human rights in China in our national
statements at recent sessions of the UN Human Rights Council and through our activity
at China’s last Universal Periodic Review in November 2018.</p><p> </p><p>British
diplomats in Beijing have reported increased censorship and surveillance of citizens
in China in the weeks leading up to 4 June. This is a common pattern they observe
in the run up to the 4 June anniversary. In recent years, the Chinese authorities
have also focused on censoring discussion on the anniversary on social media in China,
which has reportedly included some Western news websites being restricted more than
usual within China around this period. The British Embassy in China experienced such
censorship first hand this week; the Embassy posted my statement in English and Chinese
through social media, which was then censored within a few minutes.</p><p> </p><p>We
remain concerned by all restrictions on freedom of expression in China and urge the
authorities to safeguard citizens’ rights to freedom of speech and expression. It
is crucial that governments allow their societies and citizens to remember, debate
and discuss important historical events, even when this is uncomfortable for the governments
concerned.</p><p> </p><p>The British Government also remains committed to making representations
to the Chinese Government on the rights of relatives of protestors. During the Foreign
Secretary’s last visit to China, he met with family members of detained Chinese human
rights lawyers who were arrested in the so-called “709 crackdown.”</p>
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