Security tight in Beijing on Tiananmen crackdown anniversary

BEIJING, China – Authorities in Beijing are blanketing the city centre with heavy security on the 25th anniversary of the bloody military suppression of pro-democracy protests centred on Tiananmen Square.

Police and paramilitary officers patrolled the vast plaza and surrounding streets on Wednesday, stopping vehicles seeking to enter the area and demanding identification from passers-by. Reporters were told to leave the area following the usual dawn flag-raising ceremony.

Dozens of activists, dissidents and other critics have already been detained by police, held under house arrest or sent out of the city.

China allows no public discussion of the events of June 3-4, 1989, when soldiers accompanied by tanks and armoured personnel carriers fought their way into the heart of the city, killing hundreds of unarmed protesters and onlookers.