As a congressman for Minnesota, he told fellow lawmakers in 2014: āAs a young man, I was just going to teach high school in Foshan in Guangdong, and was in Hong Kong in May of ā89.
āAnd as the events were unfolding, several of us went in. And I still remember the train station in Hong Kong.
āThe opportunity to be in a Chinese high school at that critical time seemed to me to be really important. And it was a very interesting summer to say the least.ā
The Tiananmen Square protests took place between April and early June 1989. A Nebraska newspaper report from May 16 1989 reportedly shows a photo of Walz touring a Nebraska National Guard storeroom.
A separate article from April 1989 reported that he was planning to travel to China in early August the same year ā roughly two months after the protests were crushed in the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Mr Walz repeated his claims that he was in the region during the protests five years later in a radio interview.
āI was in Hong Kong on June 4, 1989, when, of course, Tiananmen Square happened. āAnd I was in China after that,ā he said.
āIt was very strange because, of course, all outside transmissions were blocked ā Voice of America ā and, of course, there was no, no phones or email or anything.
āSo I was kind of out of touch. It took me a month to know the Berlin Wall had fallen when I was living there.ā
A source close to Mr Walz did not specifically refute the claims when they spoke to CNN.
āThe point Governor Walz is making when he discusses this is that some folks in the World Teach program discussed dropping out after Tiananmen Square, but he continued on with the program,ā they said.
āHe believed it was important for the Chinese people to learn about American democracy and American history.ā
Republicans have painted Kamala Harrisā running mate as a serial liar after he falsely claimed to have carried weapons āin warā.
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Tim Walz has been accused of lying about being in Hong Kong duringĀ [the Tiananmen Square protests](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/04/ground-tiananmen-square-30-years-since-massacre-crushed-democracy/)Ā in 1989.
The Minnesota governor and vice-presidential candidate has repeatedly claimed that he was teaching in the territory when the Chinese government crushed pro-democracy demonstrations,Ā [killing hundreds in the process](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/04/thirty-years-pain-tiananmen-still-haunts-chinese-families-like/).
However, Minnesota Public Radio News has placed Mr Walz in NebraskaĀ [at the time of the massacre](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/10872603/In-pictures-The-1989-Tiananmen-Square-massacre.html), citing local news reports from the time.
The development comesĀ [ahead of his debate against JD Vance](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/10/01/what-watch-out-jd-vance-tim-walz-vice-presidential-debate/)Ā on Tuesday evening.
Mr Walz, who spent 24 years in the National Guard, has previously admittedĀ [he āmisspokeā when he claimed to have carried weapons āin warā](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/08/10/tim-walz-misspoke-about-using-weapons-in-war/). In fact, he never saw active service in a combat zone and left the military before his battalion was deployed to Iraq.
As a congressman for Minnesota, he told fellow lawmakers in 2014: āAs a young man, I was just going to teach high school in Foshan in Guangdong, and was in Hong Kong in May of ā89.
āAnd as the events were unfolding, several of us went in. And I still remember the train station in Hong Kong.
āThe opportunity to be in a Chinese high school at that critical time seemed to me to be really important. And it was a very interesting summer to say the least.ā
The Tiananmen Square protests took place between April and early June 1989. A Nebraska newspaper report from May 16 1989 reportedly shows a photo of Walz touring a Nebraska National Guard storeroom.
According to the caption,Ā [Mr Walz was taking over a job staffing a storeroom](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/08/06/tim-walz-harris-vice-presidential-hopeful-trump-weird/)Ā and would soon be moving to Alliance, Nebraska.
A separate article from April 1989 reported that he was planning to travel to China in early August the same year ā roughly two months after the protests were crushed in the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Mr Walz repeated his claims that he was in the region during the protests five years later in a radio interview.
āI was in Hong Kong on June 4, 1989, when, of course, Tiananmen Square happened. āAnd I was in China after that,ā he said.
āIt was very strange because, of course, all outside transmissions were blocked ā Voice of America ā and, of course, there was no, no phones or email or anything.
āSo I was kind of out of touch. It took me a month to know the Berlin Wall had fallen when I was living there.ā
A source close to Mr Walz did not specifically refute the claims when they spoke to CNN.
āThe point Governor Walz is making when he discusses this is that some folks in the World Teach program discussed dropping out after Tiananmen Square, but he continued on with the program,ā they said.
āHe believed it was important for the Chinese people to learn about American democracy and American history.ā
Republicans have painted Kamala Harrisā running mate as a serial liar after he falsely claimed to have carried weapons āin warā.
**Read more from The Telegraph:** [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/10/01/tim-walz-accused-lying-about-where-during-tiananmen-square/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/10/01/tim-walz-accused-lying-about-where-during-tiananmen-square/)
It’s all relative. If it’s in the reference of Carl Sagan, yes, he was here, on this pale blue dot.