China tightens access to Tiananmen Square as 32 detained in Hong Kong

Police order people to stop for identification check at a checkpoint along a street near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, June 4, 2023, during the 34th anniversary of China's bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests. [AP Photo]

China tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of the military suppression of 1989 pro-democracy protests that left a still unknown number of people dead and discussions and commemorations forbidden within the country.

In Hong Kong, which had been the last Chinese-controlled territory to hold commemorations, eight people, including activists and artists, were detained on the eve of the anniversary of the crackdown, a move that underscored the city's shrinking room for freedom of expression. Police on late Sunday said they arrested a woman for allegedly obstructing police officers in performing their duties and took 23 others away on suspicion of breaching public peace for further investigation. Many of them were detained by officers around Victoria Park.