20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests The 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 (20周年六四遊行) was a series of rallies that took place in late May to early June 2009 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 4 June Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, during which the Chinese government sent troops to suppress the pro-democracy movement. While the anniversary is remembered around the world; the event is heavily censored on Chinese soil, particularly in Mainland China. Events which mark it only take place in Hong Kong, and in Macao to a much lesser extent. In the Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident verification about the victims" raised questions about whether authorities had advanced knowledge of the self-immolation. Police were on the scene of the self-immolation within 90 seconds carrying numerous pieces of firefighting equipment. A European journalist was quoted as saying "I have never seen policemen patrolling on Tiananmen Square carrying fire extinguishers. How come they all showed up today? The location of the incident is at least 20 minutes roundtrip from the nearest building – the People's Great Hall." John Gittings of "The Guardian" stated, however, that it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on