Chinese President Xi Jinping maintained tight control over protest activities as the 27th anniversary of China's 1989 violent crackdown on a pro-democracy movement at Tiananmen Square passed on June 4. Xi should realize that suppressing people's voices will only weaken the country's social foundation even his regime succeeds in maintaining order on the surface.
Last Saturday, large numbers of police officers were mobilized at Tiananmen Square, where they took away several people who were distributing flyers from a bus. The authorities also kept close watch as members of an association of mothers whose children were killed during the Tiananmen Square incident visited their graves in Beijing.
A human rights group website has reported that some 50 activists had been detained or simply disappeared as of June 4. In Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, a pastor of an underground church was reportedly detained on suspicion that he disturbed the public order. Authorities also deleted social media posts that referred to the Tiananmen incident.