China tightens access to Tiananmen Square on anniversary of crackdown – POLITICO

China tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Additional security measures were seen around the square, which has long been surrounded by security checks, according to media reports.

In Hong Kong, police arrested four people during stop and search operations near Victoria Park on Sunday, as people commemorated the 34th anniversary of the crackdown. Police said they arrested the four men for “undermining the public peace”, according to reports.

Victoria Park, a famous site of annual vigils, saw a barrage of armored vehicles and police deployed, according to reports. Pro-Beijing groups staged a food carnival in part of the park, while cordoning off other areas with barricades.

Hong Kong was once the center of the biggest vigils marking the anniversary of Tiananmen Square, when Chinese troops violently suppressed pro-democracy protesters and killed 300. But following a tightening of societal freedoms in Hong Kong after the 2019-20 protests, other cities like Taipei, London, New York and Berlin took the lead to mark the anniversary.

According to Reuters, more than a dozen people were taken from Victoria Park, including an activist who carried a bouquet of flowers, a man who held a copy of “May 35”, a piece about the Tiananmen crackdown, and a man age. standing alone on a street corner with a candle.

“The regime wants you to forget, but you can’t forget. … He [China] wants to whitewash the whole story,” Chris To, who visited the park, told the newswire.