Authorities must still account for the Tiananmen crackdown and pay proper compensation to victims, according to a campaigner from the Tiananmen Mothers group.
Ding Zilin made the remarks in a statement yesterday after reports said the parents of a teenager whose death was linked to the 1989 military crackdown were offered 'hardship assistance' of 70,000 yuan.
Ms Ding, a retired professor who also lost her son in the crackdown, expressed regret that the family of Zhou Guocong - allegedly beaten to death at a detention centre in Chengdu on June 7, 1989 - had to waive their right to take legal action as a precondition for accepting the payout from local authorities.
'This means that by accepting the 70,000 yuan in two separate instalments over two years, [the victim's mother] Tang Deying will also have to give up the right to pursue the case through the criminal and civil courts,' Ms Ding said.
'[This means] the case of the murder [of a young man] for political reasons will be closed. If the case ends this way, we would feel deeply sorry.'
Ms Ding said that although Zhou, 15, was allegedly beaten to death by police at the detention centre, his death was 'clearly linked to June 4'.