Security crackdown on the eve of the 25th anniversary pro-democracy protests скачать в хорошем качестве

Security crackdown on the eve of the 25th anniversary pro-democracy protests

(3 Jun 2014) Authorities in the Chinese capital of Beijing increased security and detained government critics on Tuesday as part of a crackdown on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the crushing of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Police manned checkpoints, and officers and paramilitary troops patrolled pedestrian overpasses and streets surrounding the square. During the daily flag-lowering ceremony, fewer tourists than usual could be seen, as many were required to produce identification cards and passports at checkpoints at every entrance to the square. No attempts to hold any protests or any kind of memorials could be observed by reporters at the site. The increased security comes on top of heightened restrictions on political activists, artists, lawyers and other government critics. Dozens have been taken into detention, forced out of Beijing, or confined to their homes in other parts of the country. Artist and former activist Guo Jian, and a writer and officer of the independent Chinese PEN Center who writes under the name Ye Du, were among those taken away by authorities in the past few hours. In an apparent sign of government nervousness, connections to the global Internet appeared to have been disrupted, with Google's mail and other services mostly inaccessible. China allows no public discussion of the events of 3-4 June 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. The government has never issued a complete, formal accounting of the crackdown and the number of casualties. Beijing's official verdict is that the student-led protests aimed to topple the ruling Communist Party and plunge China into chaos. Protest leaders said they were merely seeking greater democracy and freedom, along with an end to corruption and favoritism within the party. The street junction of Muxidi, in western Beijing, a symbolic place for many relatives of those who died during the crackdown, appeared sealed off by scores of police in an attempt to prevent memorials such as those held in the past. Authorities regularly tighten security ahead of 4 June, but this year's measures seemed more stringent than in the past. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...