China tightens access to Tiananmen Square, 24 detained in Hong Kong on anniversary of 1989 protests

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BEIJING (AP) — China has tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on the anniversary of 1989 pro-democracy protests. In Hong Kong, which had been the last Chinese-controlled territory to hold commemorations, police detained at least 24 people around Victoria Park on Saturday and Sunday. The large public space used to be the scene of an annual candlelight gathering to remember the hundreds or thousands killed when army tanks and infantry descended on central Beijing on the night of June 3 and into the morning of June 4, 1989. Discussion of the events has long been suppressed in China and became increasingly off-limits in Hong Kong since a sweeping national security law was imposed in June 2020.