Melbourne City councillor ‘dissuaded’ from marking Tiananmen Square anniversary

A City of Melbourne councillor says she was persuaded to stay silent on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre at a June 4 meeting after an “alarming message” was sent to the council by Chinese authorities.

A City of Melbourne councillor has sensationally alleged political interference by Chinese authorities in council matters.

Cr Jackie Watts told a meeting on Thursday night that she had been dissuaded from marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre at a June 4 meeting after an “alarming message” was sent to the council.

“I believe political influence at (Chinese) consular level occurred, which triggered acute distress in some of my colleagues,” she said in a personal statement read to the meeting.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp. Picture: AAP

The Herald Sun can reveal Lord Mayor Sally Capp fought back tears at the June 4 meeting amid a furore in council over the Tiananmen Square issue.

It’s understood that Cr Capp became very emotional after she dropped a plan to read a short statement remembering the victims of the 1989 atrocity on the anniversary day.

About one minute into the Future Melbourne committee meeting, the Lord Mayor looked distressed, and paused before continuing to talk about procedural matters.

The Herald Sun understands Cr Capp became upset after another councillor intervened before the meeting to dissuade her from reading the statement.

Cr Watts said that she had intended to pass a separate motion remembering the Tiananmen Square victims on June 4, but was dissuaded from proceeding just five minutes before the meeting.

“Choosing to stay silent, to in effect bow to political influence right here in our city, may have been humane or a collegiate response, but it was contrary to the very democracy we hold dear,” she said.

“This political influence altered the actions of a democratically elected councillor, in this instance, me. It succeeded in changing my conduct on June 4 — in effect it led to suppression.”

Cr Jackie Watts. Picture: Jay Town

Cr Watts said June 4 was a day of tragic significance, and she had become increasingly concerned about Chinese sensitivity to media reports about the issue.

Cr Capp is on leave and was not at Thursday night’s meeting.

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A council spokesperson said: “It is standard protocol for City of Melbourne officers to contact other levels of government and consulates, as a courtesy, to make them aware of matters which affect their affairs.”

“We did so on this occasion. As stated at tonight’s meeting, Cr Watts made a personal decision not to proceed with a motion she had planned to put before Council on June 4, 2019.”

In a statement to mark the Tiananmen anniversary, the federal government said that 30 years ago, in Beijing, peaceful student protests were ended using military force.

“Australia joins the international community in remembering the tragic loss of life on 4 June 1989,” it said.

Estimates of the death toll range from several hundred to thousands of protesters.

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