Anniversary sparks call for human rights reforms

4 Jun 2009, 3:49 pm   -   Source: AAP
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A security lock down is in place in China ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre (AP).

A security lock down is in place in China ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre (AP).

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has encouraged China to improve its human rights record on the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing.

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On the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has encouraged China to improve its human rights record.

Room for improvement

Mr Rudd said that while the country had changed significantly during the last two decades, there was still room for improvement when it came to human rights.

"The cities of China have been transformed as China has performed an economic miracle," he told parliament on Thursday.

"Of course in our view, there is considerable room still for further progress."

Mr Rudd said the Tiananmen protesters' demands for less corruption and greater freedom in the communist state were yet to be fulfilled.

"These of course remain challenges with which the Chinese government today is grappling," he said.

Mr Rudd, who was a tourist in the square weeks before the massacre, said it was in the national interest to develop a broader relationship with the Asian superpower.

"The government believes that continued engagement with China is he best way to support improvement in human rights in that country," he said.

Turnbull expresses sorrow

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said Australia must remain objective in its relations with China.

"It remains vital that China understand that Australians will always expect their government to speak up honestly, directly and unapologetically for the values of freedom and liberty," he said.

Mr Turnbull expressed sorrow that there was still a reluctance in China to acknowledge the cause and the effects of the "brutal crackdown" that occurred on June 4, 1989.

He called for the protesters to be remembered, and one day, honoured.
   
 

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