On the eve of the 36th anniversary of the “June 4th Incident,” various regions in mainland China once again entered a state of comprehensive stability maintenance. Security forces were heavily deployed around Tiananmen Square in Beijing, with all personnel entering and leaving required to undergo identity card checks. Respondents indicated that authorities are strictly controlling social activities, travel, and communication to prevent any commemorative or protest activities from taking place.
On June 2nd, following an incident where a man in black rushed the flag-raising area in Tiananmen Square, a large number of uniformed and plainclothes police officers appeared in the square on the morning of June 3rd. Some officers used portable card-reading devices to inspect the identification of pedestrians entering the square one by one. Mr. Zhou, a Beijing resident, told the reporter, “They are swiping cards one by one, probably checking for visitors from outside Beijing or sensitive individuals.”
In the morning of June 2nd, as the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square was coming to a close, a man in black suddenly climbed over the railing of the square in an attempt to rush toward the flagpole. He was swiftly subdued by multiple on-site guards and removed. Following the incident, security both inside and outside the square was immediately heightened, with increased scrutiny, and many nearby areas were designated as “high-sensitivity” zones.
In addition to Tiananmen Square, the movements of dissidents in the Beijing area are also tightly restricted. Independent journalist Gao Yu was forcibly “traveled” away from his residence; while Mr. Li, a human rights activist in Beijing, was closely monitored. Mr. Li said, “When I went to the supermarket the day before yesterday, they (the police) insisted on driving me and accompanying me the entire way. When I asked why they do this every year, they said, ‘It’s a mission,’ and I can only cooperate.”
Similar stability maintenance measures were simultaneously implemented in other provinces and cities. In Guiyang, Guizhou, a dissident revealed to Epoch Times that local state security personnel had been calling him for several days, demanding daily reports of his whereabouts, prohibiting him from leaving the city, or meeting with others. Mr. Huang, a member of a human rights seminar, said that over ten people in his organization had been forcibly “traveled” or restricted to stay at home, with the police stating that control would continue until June 6th.
Rights activist Xiao Shao in Zhuzhou, Hunan, expressed that dissenting groups had been almost entirely “cleared out” locally in recent years. He mentioned individuals like He Qingfeng, just released from prison, being a key target. He elaborated, “Other people have to report their movements at any time. Old human rights defenders either end up in prison or have already gone to the United States. Zhu Chengzhi from Shaoyang is also under surveillance. He now lives at his daughter’s home in Guangzhou.”
The situation in Guangdong province is no different. Human rights lawyer Mr. Chen informed reporters that he was recently “summoned” by state security, demanding that he refrain from posting any information related to the “June 4th” incident online, whether in the form of images, words, or symbolic or implied expressions. The police warned him saying, “Don’t think we can’t see through it. Even if you use oblique language, we will still understand. Don’t cause trouble.”
Even human rights lawyers traveling on business to other locations could not escape monitoring. A lawyer involved in the “709 case” stated that despite being in Wuxi, authorities called and demanded his immediate return to his registered residence for direct monitoring by local public security.
Every year before and after “June 4th,” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) initiates special stability maintenance mechanisms, using intensive surveillance, travel restrictions, and personal limitations to suppress the activities of dissidents and sensitive groups comprehensively. A human rights observer in Shandong pointed out that this “wartime state” has already become a common practice, reflecting the authorities’ extreme sensitivity to social stability and long-term fear of political memory. He stated, “Many people may no longer openly discuss June 4th, but the government’s response every year has already explained everything.”
On June 3rd to 4th, 1989, the world was shocked by the Tiananmen Square incident in Beijing. Thousands of citizens and students gathered at the square, demanding democracy and anti-corruption measures, only to be violently dispersed by the military. The event remains a political taboo for the CCP, officially labeled as a “political turmoil.” The authorities have blocked all related information, prohibited public commemoration, and subjected even the “Tiananmen Mothers” group to long-term suppression and surveillance.
To this day, this period remains one of the most sensitive political cycles for the CCP. Despite the annual deployment of forces and technological blocks by the authorities, “June 4th” continues to exist in China’s reality in another form under highly censored and iron-fisted control, becoming an indelible political memory that cannot be erased.