Melbourne councillor Jackie Watts. Credit:Teagan Glenane

A Melbourne City councillor has said she regrets bowing to “political influence” and not proceeding with a motion commemorating the 30th anniversary of Beijing’s crackdown on Tiananmen Square in which thousands of students were killed.

Cr Jackie Watts said she was dissuaded from proceeding with a motion on June 4 after what she believed was “political influence” from the Chinese Consulate, which triggered “acute distress” in some of her colleagues.

When confronted with this distress, she said she was dissuaded from proceeding with the motion just minutes before the meeting started.

“On reflection, I know that this timid acquiescence in the face of pressure was an error on my part. I regret this on a number of levels,” Cr Watts told a meeting on Thursday night.