Mainland authorities have imposed what they are calling 'wartime' security measures in some sensitive parts of Beijing, as surveillance is stepped up on dissident families of victims of the bloody 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, to prevent public commemoration of China's most sensitive anniversary.
Security was tight in Beijing yesterday, with a heavy police presence at Tiananmen Square as well as along Changan Avenue and near the homes of activists on the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the crushing of pro-democracy protests.
Like they have done for the past 22 years, rights activists, petitioners and religious groups have reported being harassed, threatened or even taken away by police and security officers in the run-up to the anniversary, despite mounting public appeals for redress of the military crackdown.
One of the most outspoken voices for victims of the crackdown, Ding Zilin , founder of the Tiananmen Mothers organisation, was either under house arrest or had been taken away, said Zhang Xianling, a member of the support group of more than 120 relatives of those killed and injured in the deadly crackdown on June 4, 1989.
'Ding has been informed that she and her husband would be under 24-hour surveillance on June 3 and 4,' said Zhang, citing her phone conversation with Ding a few days ago.
Phone calls to Ding's home went unanswered yesterday. Zhang, 75, the mother of a student who was among those killed, said she had also been put under close police watch.