Police block events ahead of Tiananmen anniversary

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — Organizers said they were barred from commemorating a 1989 Chinese art exhibition on Thursday, an apparent sign of authorities' extreme sensitivity over the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests this year.

The move to ban a film screening and series of speeches appeared to be a step by Beijing to tighten control ahead of the June 4 anniversary of the student-led democracy demonstration.

Discussion of the protests and the subsequent military crackdown — in which hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed — remains taboo within China. The Communist leadership labeled the protest an anti-government riot and has never offered a full accounting of its response.

"I'm not disappointed for the exhibit, I'm disappointed because our system is still so out of date, still so conservative," curator Gao Minglu said. "It's been 20 years, and it's still the same."



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