(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )

 

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

 

Monday is the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. But as expected, there won’t be any official remembrances in China. Fox News has more on the anniversary.

 

“It’s been 23 years since that military crackdown on the protesters in Tiananmen Square. … This year’s anniversary drawing more scrutiny than usual because of the once-in-a-decade transfer of power there.”

 

With both China’s president and prime minister scheduled to transfer power this fall, the government has tightened censorship on any criticism. The BBC says , the communist party is trying to present a unified front.

 

“China’s leaders continue to suppress even the memory of the massacre. Harmony is their watchword, preserving a surface sense of calm what matters most.”

 

In preparation for the anniversary, authorities preemptively arrested activists to keep them from marking the date. One activist who was at the 1989 massacre tells CNN — things are tougher in China than they’ve been in years.

 

“Despite the 23 years economic booming and prosperity, the humans rights and religious freedom and many other rights have been the worst last year in two decades.”

 

Internet censors were also working overtime Monday on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo. They blocked all references to the massacre, including the date. A writer for Shanghaiist says they even blocked the candle emoticon, which is used as a symbol for remembrance.

 

“When netizens discovered the icon was no longer showing up on the platform, they began using another icon recently introduced on the site to promote the London Olympics. That icon was later taken offline by Sina Weibo.”

 

The AP reports even the stock market ran afoul of the censors, when China’s stock benchmark happened to fall 64.89 points, matching the massacre’s date — 6/4/89. Searches for “Shanghai Composite Index” were then blocked.