China Urged To Release Tiananmen Prisoners

Freeing the dozens of people who remain imprisoned for taking part in the 1989 pro-democracy protests centered in Tiananmen Square would improve China's image ahead of the Beijing Olympics this summer, a human rights group said.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said about 130 prisoners are still being held for their role in the weekslong demonstrations, involving tens of thousands of students and others, that started in Tiananmen Square and spread to several major cities. The movement was crushed in a military crackdown.

The square in the heart of the Chinese capital is expected to feature prominently in media coverage of the Olympics, although authorities worry about the possibility of fresh protests marring the event.

"The Chinese government should show the global Olympic audience it's serious about human rights by releasing the Tiananmen detainees," Sophie Richardson, the group's Asia advocacy director, said in a statement released Monday in New York.

The square was calm Wednesday morning on the 19th anniversary of the June 3-4 military assault on the protesters in which hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed. China's Communist leaders portray the protest as an anti-government riot and have never offered a full accounting of the crackdown.

In a slight increase in the normally tight security, uniformed police and other security officials patrolled the square. There were random bag checks and plainclothes police used handheld video cameras to monitor the scene.

The only visual reminder of the protests 19 years ago was that the Monument to the People's Heroes was roped off and guarded. The monument was used as a rallying point by the students in 1989.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department urged China to make a full public accounting of those killed, detained or missing in the crackdown. It called on the international community to urge China to release prisoners still serving sentences from the protests.

The U.S. said that Chinese steps to protect freedoms of its citizens would help it "achieve its goal of projecting a positive image to the world."

China had pledged to improve its human rights situation when bidding to host the 2008 Olympics. But one Tiananmen activist, whose son was killed as he hid from soldiers enforcing martial law, scoffed when asked whether the August games had spurred the government to change its attitude.

"I don't have this kind of illusion," said Ding Zilin, co-founder of the Tiananmen Mothers, a group representing families of those who died. She has campaigned to get the government to acknowledge those killed in the crackdown and compensate their families for the deaths.

"Have you noticed that China, because of the Olympics, has been more open or improved? Is it possible?" she asked, pointing out with a deep sigh that some activist friends were placed under house arrest this year.

No official figure is available of the number of people who remain jailed in connection with the Tiananmen protests. Liu Xiaobo, an Internet writer who was jailed for nearly five years after the protests, said he knows of up to eight people serving life sentences in Beijing's No. 2 Prison on charges of organizing people to oppose the soldiers or taking part in acts such as the burning of police or army vehicles during the crackdown.

China Human Rights Defenders, a network of activists and rights monitoring groups, released a list Tuesday with the names of eight Beijing residents who remain imprisoned. A handful of activists had also been placed under house arrest or monitored by police in the days leading up to the anniversary, the group said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang declined to comment on prisoner numbers or any possible future releases, calling that a matter for other government departments.

However, he repeated China's position that the government has been improving human rights by reforming the legal system and raising living standards.