Beijing will never reverse its verdict on the 1989 democracy movement and its suppression, Justice Minister Xiao Yang declared yesterday.
'The party and the people have already arrived at a correct judgment of that incident and there will be no change in that,' he said.
He added that 'correct handling' had ensured the long-term stability of China.
He declined to respond to questions about the alleged petition by ousted party chief Zhao Ziyang calling for a new look at the verdict on the student movement.
He also declined to reveal more details about the upcoming trial of Chen Xitong , former party secretary of Beijing.
Until now, Mr Xiao said, the case had been an internal affair of the party and it was now in the hands of the procuratorial organs.
Chen had squandered public funds and allowed his staff and children to embezzle money for business, he added.