The call to protest was deliberately low key. In fax messages Chinese dissidents abroad urged sympathizers on the mainland to honor the April 15 anniversary of the beginning of last year's prodemocracy upheaval by simply taking a stroll through Beijing's Tiananmen Square. But the country's security watchdogs were eavesdropping. Last week, at the suggested start of the modest commemoration, police seized the 100-acre square in the heart of the capital. As soldiers guarded the perimeter, thousands of schoolchildren performed a ceremony to honor the nation's revolutionary-war dead. When the security forces melted away and Tiananmen was reopened to the public, scores...
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