Chinese leaders "come one after another, as if through a revolving door; and as they move forward, they become ever more distant and outrageous, causing a universal feeling of despair to descend on the people from all sides," the mothers claimed. The group, which has 123 members, complained that more than two decades after what is known as the "June 4 incident" the authorities still refused to recognise the official death toll or explain what had happened that day. "To this day, all our efforts have been in vain, we have received not a single response from the government," the letter said. Responding to the letter on Friday, Hong Lei, the foreign ministry spokesman, said China had already reached a "clear conclusion" about the events of June 4, 1989. "The Chinese people enjoy extensive rights and freedom," he added. The Tiananmen Mothers group vowed to "never give up" campaigning until the "souls of the victims" could be laid to rest with an official recognition of the scale of the tragedy.