NEW YORK -- The U.S. State Department on Wednesday condemned the "sheer brutality" Beijing displayed 31 years ago in its suppression of peaceful pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square, as domestic division grows over whether force should be used to rein in protests on American soil.
"Today we honor the brave Chinese people whose peaceful calls for democracy, human rights, and a corruption-free society came to a violent end when the Chinese Communist Party sent the People's Liberation Army into Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, armed with tanks and guns," department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
