The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Taipei

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou Wednesday called on rival China to give freedom and democracy to its people, on the 19th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

"Since the June 4, 1989 incident, I have expressed my thoughts on the anniversary and attended events organised to remember the victims. What I do care about is whether people in China can enjoy a life of freedom and democracy," Ma said in a statement.

Ma said he hoped a free, democratic and wealthy China could "be a foundation for peaceful development in the cross-strait ties and create a win-win situation for Taiwan and the mainland."

Hundreds, if not thousands, of students and other pro-democracy protesters who had been demonstrating peacefully in Tiananmen Square in Beijing for weeks were shot dead by authorities on the night of June 3-4, 1989.

China's communist party has never offered a full account of the crackdown.

In the statement, Ma added that China's prompt and largely open rescue efforts after last month's devastating Sichuan earthquake showed "the mainland has made progress to some extent after three decades of reforms and openness."

The death toll from the May 12 quake, China's worst for a generation, rose to 69,122 on Wednesday, with another 17,991 missing.

Before Ma took office on May 20, he had been a harsh critic on the Tiananmen Square massacre, urging China to compensate the victims and their families.

Political observers say Ma has toned down his criticism this year as the two rivals are about to resume top-level dialogue that has been suspended for more than a decade.

The two sides are scheduled to meet in Beijing later this month to talk about proposals to launch weekend charter flights and allow more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan, a step perceived as a thaw in cross-strait tensions.