On most holidays, Peking's Tiananmen Square is jammed with thousands of residents and visitors who traditionally promenade through the 100-acre open area and photograph one another in front of the surrounding monuments. But on New Year's Day, revelers arriving at the huge square found it virtually blocked off by hundreds of police standing at rigid attention. "What's happening?" asked one perplexed out-of-towner. "Any foreign dignitaries arriving?" That was hardly the cause for the show of force. Within hours, despite the police, the historic site was aswarm with protesting students, singing and chanting slogans. It was the largest illegal demonstration in the...
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