PARIS, June 7 (UPI). The European Union called Wednesday for the release of all dissidents detained by Chinese authorities in the run up to the sixth anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre June 4.

Chinese authorities detained some 50 political dissidents and intellectuals in the two weeks preceding the anniversary of the repression of China's democracy movement to prevent any type of commemoration.

"(The EU) deplores the arrest of several Chinese dissidents and intellectuals in the last two weeks in China and calls for their quick release," said an EU statement issued in Paris.

The Chinese government rejected Tuesday similar demands by international human rights organizations.

The detainees include the former student leader of the Chinese democracy movement of 1989, Wang Dan, who has been held since May 21.

The 15 EU countries also said they would use every opportunity to remind the Chinese government of their concerns over the human rights situation in China, including Tibet.