DISSIDENTS HOLD VIRTUAL RALLY AS TIGHT SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 003724

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2032
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI KCUL CH
SUBJECT: DISSIDENTS HOLD VIRTUAL RALLY AS TIGHT SECURITY
MARKS 18TH ANNIVERSARY OF TIANANMEN


Classified By: Political Section Internal Unit Chief
Susan A. Thornton. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) The eighteenth anniversary of the June 4, 1989
crackdown in Tiananmen Square passed without incident
in Beijing. Security presence in the Square was more
visible and aggressive than last year, but in a break
from past precedent, only a handful of activists were
detained in advance of the anniversary and some were
allowed to conduct personal remembrances on the
Square. Dissidents held a "virtual rally" on June 3,
involving about 500 participants, 90 percent of whom
were inside China. Another virtual rally is planned
for June 4, 8:00 p.m. Beijing time. End Summary.

Aggressive Security in the Square...
--------------


2. (C) During a visit to the Square on the morning of
June 4, Poloff saw no protest activity but did witness
the temporary detention of a Xinhua photographer, who
was escorted from the Square, and aggressive policing
in and around the Square. In addition to the usual
sharp increase in security personnel, including a
busload of riot police, a number of Security Bureau
vans and squad cars circulated among the crowd of
tourists continuously and security personnel searched
the bags of all people entering the Square. The
Xinhua photographer told Poloff after the incident,
that he had been allowed to take pictures, but then
was asked to verify his credentials. He said security
officials were "afraid" of photos that might
"embarrass China" but that nothing had happened that
morning on the Square.


3. (C) There was no discernible security presence or
June 4 activity at the family courtyard of former
Party chief Zhao Ziyang, who spent the rest of his
life in house arrest after supporting the students in

1989. Zhao's death two years ago sparked renewed
calls for a reassessment of June 4. Beijing's most
prestigious university campuses, Qinghua University
and Beijing University, were also quiet. Students
with whom Poloff talked expressed no interest in the
anniversary, uniformly noting that the events happened
so long ago, it made no impression on them. However,
several students said there would be an online student
discussion on the events of 1989 at a popular Beijing
University bulletin board. When Poloff attempted to
access the bulletin board, it was blocked. There was
no commentary on the anniversary in Mainland media and
no comments were apparent on Mainland chatrooms
monitored by Emboffs.

...But Restrictions on Activists More Relaxed
--------------


4. (C) Rights activist Hu Jia told Poloff June 4 that
he was placed under house arrest on May 25 immediately
upon returning to Beijing from Fujian Province, where
he and his wife, fellow activist, Zeng Jinyan attended
Zeng,s grandfather,s funeral. Zeng told Poloff that
she has been permitted to leave her home since
returning to Beijing on June 2, but is followed
closely wherever she goes. Democracy activist Liu
Anjun has been under house arrest since June 2 but is
able to access the Internet and take phone calls.
Tiananmen activist Qi Zhiyong, who lost his legs when
soldiers fired on demonstrators in 1989, was taken
from his home to an undisclosed location on June 1,
where he is being held incommunicado, according to Liu
and Hu. The restrictions on Qi, Hu Jia said, are
tight to prevent him from communicating with other
activists or reporters who, he said, would certainly
seek him out.


5. (C) Despite this crackdown on a few activists,
according to Hu, measures imposed on activists by the
Party this year are less stringent, constituting "a
break from the trend of the previous 17 years."
First, many activists can access Internet and
telephone, which they could not do in previous years.
Second, some who were placed under house arrest in
previous years have been permitted to leave their
homes. Tiananmen Mothers Ding Zilin and Zhang
Xianling were permitted to attend remembrances for
their children on June 3 and June 4. (Note: Western
media quoted Hu Jia as stating that Zhang Xianling was

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subsequently placed under house arrest. End note.)
Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was permitted on the Square on June
3 for an interview with VOA. Pu was not permitted to
enter the Square last year, when he sent out a text
message encouraging activists to gather. Finally,
Reuters reported on June 4 that it was not prevented
from interviewing Bao Tong, a top aide of Zhao's who
is generally kept under house arrest.

Virtual Rally Called First Open Discussion of June 4
-------------- --------------


6. (C) In addition, on June 3 Hu Jia and Liu Anjun
participated in what they termed a "large scale
Internet-based meeting" to commemorate Tiananmen and
discuss Tiananmen-related issues. The meeting began
at about noon on June 3 and lasted for 5-6 hours. Hu
said that this was the first "open" discussion of its
kind in the 18 years since Tiananmen occurred,
involving about 500 persons both inside and outside
China. Ninety percent of participants, Liu estimated,
were inside China. Hu said the discussion had been
initiated on the suggestion of Wang Dan, a student
leader in the Square on 1989 who now lives abroad. Hu
Jia said that the large number of in-country
participants signified that "more people are willing
to stand up on the Tiananmen issue," particularly in
the wake of pro-Beijing Hong Kong politician Ma Lik's
statement last month denying that a massacre took
place. Liu Anjun said the meeting was not intended to
be secret. In fact, participants prepared for the
possibility of interference to by pre-arranging
several Skype "meeting rooms." Liu said authorities
shut down the Skype "meeting room" where the meeting
was taking place after about 2 hours. At that point,
all the participants "migrated" to another room.
Poloffs will monitor a second meeting scheduled for
June 4 at 8 p.m.
PICCUTA