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3mo ago

China Tightens Security for 36th Tiananmen Anniversary as Global Leaders Vow Remembrance

Tight security from Beijing to Hong Kong underscores Beijing’s censorship efforts to erase the crackdown from public memory.

Security personnel stand on duty near the Tiananmen Gate which is under renovation on the anniversary of China's bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A boom lift partially blocks the view of a screen depicting a lit candle at the Canadian Embassy on the anniversary of China's bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A Beijing demonstrator blocks the path of a tank convoy along the Avenue of Eternal Peace near Tiananmen Square. For weeks, people have been protesting for freedom of speech and of press from the Chinese government.

Overview

  • Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued statements commemorating the 1989 crackdown and pledging to preserve its memory as a human rights symbol.
  • Beijing deployed heightened security around Tiananmen Square and Victoria Park in Hong Kong, detaining activists and preventing public remembrance.
  • China’s Foreign Ministry condemned Rubio’s remarks as a malicious attack on China’s political system and lodged a formal protest with the United States.
  • Jailed Hong Kong activist Chow Hang-tung began a 36-hour hunger strike to mark the anniversary under tight national security restrictions.
  • Overseas vigils by the Tiananmen Mothers and foreign embassies called for an official investigation, accountability and a public accounting of the deaths.