HONG KONG — During the Republican presidential debate on Thursday, Donald J. Trump was forced to defend his earlier comments about the Chinese government’s 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen protests in Beijing. He said that he did not endorse the crackdown, which he called “horrible.” But critics pointed out that in his comments on Thursday he called the protests a “riot,” which matches the Chinese government’s description of the events.

In 1990, Mr. Trump told Playboy magazine that Beijing showed “the power of strength” when it used military force to quell the student-led demonstrations the year before.

“When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it,” he said. “Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength. Our country is right now perceived as weak ... as being spit on by the rest of the world.”