在2024年美国总统选举唯一的一次副总统辩论活动中，明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·瓦兹（Tim Walz）承认自己曾有误表述，在1989年的天安门事件期间身在中国的事实。
瓦兹以前多次宣称他在东南中国佛山度过了他高中的执教时光，并声称那时亲身经历了该地区发生的天安门事件。直到二月份，他在播客节目“Pod Save America”中声称自己是在香港目睹了这一历史事件的，他说道：“我当时在6月4日那天在位于香港时目睹了天安门发生的事情……我们的很多同伴都决定不去现场。”
然而根据ABC新闻获取的当地报纸剪报显示，似乎瓦兹直到1989年8月才到达中国。当年的香港民运导致中国政府采取致命措施于同年4月15日至6月4日结束，而这一事件发生在瓦兹抵达中国之前约两个月。
在被追问对于与报道相悖的说法有何解释时，瓦兹承认了自己“措辞不当”，但重申他确实“在香港和中国的抗议期间参与了民主运动”。尽管回避了关于旅行时间线是否真实的质疑，瓦兹为自己辩解称自己并非完美无瑕，并表示自己的确有过失误，偶尔也会“言行不慎”。
这已是瓦兹第二次在过去的陈述中出现失言情况。
民主党副总统候选人此前曾因他在军事记录的描述引发争议。批评者对他本人的军事实录提出质疑，指出了他未能修正不准确信息的事件。
除多次宣称自己在退役时所持有但实际并未获得的军衔外，哈里斯-瓦兹竞选团队还承认，2018年瓦兹声称自己携带了战争武器“参与战斗”这一说法是错误的。
新闻来源：www.abcnews.go.com
原文地址：Walz, after coming under fire for military record, backtracks on China visit
新闻日期：2024-10-02
原文摘要：
During the first and only vice presidential debate of the 2024 presidential election, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz admitted he "misspoke" about being in China during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Walz has repeatedly claimed he was in China for the protests during his year-long stint as a high school teacher in the southeastern Chinese town of Foshan. As recently as in February, Walz said during an episode of the podcast "Pod Save America" that he was in Hong Kong during the protests. "I was in Hong Kong when it happened – I was in Hong Kong on June 4th when Tiananmen happened … Quite a few of our folks decided not to go in," he said. It appears Walz did not actually travel to the region until August 1989, according to local newspaper clippings obtained by ABC News. The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which led to a deadly government crackdown by the Chinese government, lasted from April 15 to June 4 that year -- ending about two months ahead of Walz's travel to the country. Pressed to clarify news reports that disprove such claims, Walz said that he "misspoke" in his earlier claims but then reiterated that he "was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protest." While evading the question over whether he was telling the truth about the timeline of his travel, Walz defended his character by admitting he has gaffes, has "not been perfect" and is a "knucklehead at times." This marks another instance of Walz appearing to have misspoken about his past. The Democratic vice presidential pick previously came under fire for his military record, with critics attacking the way he has characterized his experience and pointing out instances of him failing to correct inaccuracies. In addition to Walz repeatedly saying that he retired with a rank he achieved but did not retire with, the Harris-Walz campaign admitted he misspoke when stating in 2018 that he carried weapons of war "in war."
