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After suppressing information about the Tiananmen Square democracy protests and subsequent massacres for 20 years, there has not been a need to impose dramatic new restrictions to stifle remembrances in the lead-up to the anniversary.

Online references to what happened in the spring of 1989 have long been blocked, but savvy Chinese Internet users find ways around them. China has also launched a four-month crackdown on unapproved Internet cafés, lasting from June 1 to Sept. 30.

Government pressure on activist lawyers appears to be increasing this year, Chinese Human Rights Defenders stated, with some prominent human-rights defenders having trouble renewing their licences to practise.

Chinese customs are also expected to step up checks and seize copies of the recently published memoirs of the Communist Party chief who was ousted for sympathetic views toward the student protesters.

The anniversary won't pass without commemoration on Chinese territory, however, as events are planned in the specially governed areas of Hong Kong and Macau. They are forbidden, however, on mainland China.

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