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 practitioners, but were not scrutinised for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death. Tiananmen Square was one of the main venues where Falun Gong practitioners gathered to protest the persecution, usually by raising banners in defence of the group, or stage peaceful meditation sit-ins. Ian Johnson of the "Wall Street Journal" estimated that by 25 April 2000, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested for attempting to demonstrate in Beijing, most of them in or on the way to Tiananmen Square. Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration