China should 'repudiate June 4', says party official jailed over Tiananmen

Bao Tong , the most senior party official jailed over the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement, said the crackdown must be "completely repudiated" if China is to move forward.

The former top aide of reformist leader Zhao Ziyang said all Chinese people - including top leaders - should stop protecting the legacy of Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong and reflect on the events of June 4, 1989.

"Like the Cultural Revolution must be totally repudiated, June 4 must be completely repudiated," Bao said in a telephone interview.

"Like Mao was the symbol for the Cultural Revolution, Deng was the symbol of the June 4 [crackdown]."

Bao was director of the party's Political Reform Office and a member of the Central Committee when the government used armed troops and tanks to crush the student-led movement on June 4, killing hundreds, maybe thousands, of civilians.

"I think every Chinese - officials or ordinary people, those who were persecuted or benefited [from the crackdown] - should all reflect upon this issue," he said. Bao, 81, was jailed for seven years, detained for a further year and has been under house arrest since his release in 1997.