Police warn families of Tiananmen crackdown dead not to visit graves on 37th anniversary
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Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities snuffed out efforts to mark Thursday’s anniversary of the deadly 1989 military crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, in a further tightening of a yearslong campaign to erase what happened from public memory. Police told relatives of the victims they would not be allowed to visit a cemetery in Beijing on the anniversary of the crackdown 37 years ago, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of retribution. Relatives from a group called Tiananmen Mothers visited the graves for more than 30 years, reading memorial statements while police kept watch, Amnesty International said. Hundreds of people, and possibly thousands, were killed in 1989 as troops advanced through crowds that were trying to stop the military from reaching the protesters on Tiananmen Square, a vast plaza in the center of the Chinese capital. The decision by the Communist Party leadership to send in the military was a pivotal moment in China’s modern history, determining that the market reform that transformed the country into the world’s second largest economy would not be coupled with political liberalization. Rubio says censorship can’t erase the past In Hong Kong, police stepped up security Thursday at or near a park where a massive candlelight vigil lit up the night every year until a clampdown following major anti-government protests in 2019.
A handful of people showed up in the evening. Officers allowed some to go freely — including a man holding flowers and an activist who said she bowed 37 times. Police said in a statement that seven people were stopped and searched on suspicion of being disorderly in public as of 11:30 p.m. They were taken away for further investigation before being allowed to leave, police said, without naming them. Activist Chan Po-ying, who held a yellow paper flower, was among those taken away by police vans as journalists watched. The U.S., the EU and Britain posted messages on social media marking the anniversary. “No amount of censorship can erase the past,” a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio read. “Those who sacrificed to uphold their unalienable rights of free expression and peaceful assembly will be vindicated someday.” Rows of electronic candles lit up the windows of the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong. Read More Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning dismissed Rubio’s words as a smear on her nation’s political system. “We urge the U.S. side to... stop using so-called democracy and human rights as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs,” she said. The chairs of the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China also issued a statement, saying the Chinese Communist Party “can censor history; it cannot silence memory.” Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy On Thursday, a number of U.S. lawmakers, former student leaders from the 1989 movement and their supporters gathered on the U.S. Capitol Hill to commemorate the anniversary.
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