BEIJING (AP) — China stepped up security Tuesday to mark 35 years since a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests, with checkpoints and lines of police vehicles set up on main roads leading to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Hong Kong police cleared at least two people from the streets to prevent public mourning from spreading beyond mainland China.
China has long erased memories of the crackdown, when it ordered the military to end months of protests and preserve Communist rule. An estimated 180,000 soldiers and paramilitary police swarmed in with tanks and armored vehicles and opened fire to stop crowds heading for student-led demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
The death toll remains unknown to this day; hundreds, possibly thousands, are believed to have been killed in the operation that began the night before and ended on the morning of June 4, 1989.
The crackdown marked a turning point in modern Chinese history, ending a crisis in favor of Communist Party hardliners who advocated control rather than political reform.
The economy has boomed in the decades since, transforming the once-impoverished country into the world’s second-largest, but social controls have been tightened since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.
The case remains a sensitive and taboo topic across China and is heavily censored, with any mention of it on social media being quickly removed.
Life continued largely as normal in China’s capital on Tuesday, with tourists lining the streets leading to Tiananmen Square and the gates leading to the Forbidden City, the former imperial palace on the north side of the square. The subway exit closest to the square was closed, as was the observation deck at the top of Tiananmen, according to a visitor registration website.
“The Chinese government has long since reached a clear conclusion about the political turmoil in the late 1980s,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said, without elaborating. Asked about statements by Western governments on the anniversary, he added: “We firmly oppose those who use it as an excuse to attack and slander China and interfere in its internal affairs.”
Tiananmen Mothers, a group formed by the families of the victims, has launched an online appeal for the Chinese government to make public the names and number of those killed, pay compensation to the victims and their families, and hold those responsible legally accountable.
“The June 4 tragedy is a historic tragedy that the Chinese government must face up to and explain to its people, and some government officials at the time should be held legally accountable for the indiscriminate killing of innocent people,” the group said in a letter signed by 114 bereaved families and published on its website, which is blocked in China.
Tiananmen Square memorials have also been removed from Hong Kong, which for years was the only place such ceremonies were held in China. On Tuesday, a carnival organised by pro-Beijing groups took place in a park that for decades had seen huge candlelight vigils marking the anniversary.
Police were out in force a day after briefly detaining a performance artist in the busy Causeway Bay shopping district near the park. An elderly man was seen being led away holding two handwritten posters, one of which read: “Don’t forget the 89! Mourn the 64!” Hong Kong media reported that activists Alexandra WongA woman popularly known as “Grandma Wong” was also taken away after shouting slogans.
“It’s not the same as it was before,” said Hong Kong resident Keith Law. “A lot of people, including me, seem to be acting as if nothing is happening.”
Some Hong Kong residents commemorated the event privately, running 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) on Monday to mark June 4 or sharing Tiananmen-related content on social media. The British Consulate posted a photo on social media platform X of a smartphone flashlight lit with the Roman numerals “VIIV” printed on it.
An independent bookshop with a sign in its window saying “35/5” (an euphemism for the date of the crackdown, May 35th) posted on Instagram that police had been stationed outside the store for an hour on Sunday, recording the identities of customers.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee did not directly answer a question Tuesday about whether residents could still publicly mourn the crackdown. He urged residents to remain vigilant against any attempts to stir up trouble.
“The threats to national security are real,” Lee said at a weekly briefing. “These activities can occur suddenly, and different people can use different excuses to conceal their intentions.”
The silencing of voices in Hong Kong has led to increased commemorations abroad, with rallies planned this year in cities as diverse as Washington DC, London, Brisbane and Taipei, along with a growing number of lectures, rallies, exhibitions and plays.
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Leung reported from Hong Kong. Associated Press writer Emily Wang Fujiyama in Beijing contributed.
