Silence, security in Beijing on 30th Tiananmen anniversary
Beijing: China marked 30 years since the deadly Tiananmen crackdown on Tuesday with a wall of silence and extra security after arresting activists and tightening internet censorship ahead of the politically sensitive anniversary.
On a grey, overcast day, police checked the identification cards of every tourist and commuter leaving the subway near Tiananmen Square, the site of the pro-democracy protests that were brutally extinguished by tanks and soldiers on June 4, 1989.
Foreign journalists were not allowed onto the square at all or warned by police not to take pictures.
The United States marked the occasion by hailing the "heroic" movement of 1989 and denouncing a "new wave of abuses" in China.
But in China the Communist Party made sure that the anniversary remained in the distant past, detaining several activists in the run-up to June 4 while popular livestreaming sites conspicuously shut down for "technical" maintenance.
Over the years, the party has censored any discussion of the protests and crackdown, which left hundreds, possibly more than 1,000, dead -- ensuring that people either never learn about what happened or fear detention if they dare discuss it openly.
The party and its high-tech police apparatus have tightened control over civil society since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012, rounding up activists, rights lawyers and even Marxist students who sympathised with labour movements.
Countless surveillance cameras are perched on lampposts in and around Tiananmen Square.
"It's not that we don't care. We know what happened," said a driver for the DiDi ride-hailing service who was born in 1989.
"But how can I tell you, the DiDi app is recording our conversation in the car," he said.
"But today's China has changed. If you have money you have everything. Without money you dare not open your mouth." It was largely business as usual at Tiananmen on Tuesday: Hundreds of people, including children waving small Chinese flags while sitting on their parents' shoulders, lined up at the security checkpoint before dawn to watch the daily flag-raising at the square.
But the line moved slowly due to extra security -- with IDs matched on facial recognition screens -- and dozens were unable to watch the event.
When asked whether it crossed her mind that she was visiting the square on the 30th anniversary, a nursing school graduate in her 20s from eastern Shandong province said, "What do you mean? No, it didn't cross my mind."
Her mother jumped in to say, "We don't think of that past."
But there were rare public acknowledgements of June 4 this year.
China's defence minister, General Wei Fenghe, on Sunday defended the crackdown as the "correct" policy to end "political turbulence" at the time.
The nationalistic state-run tabloid Global Times hailed the government's handling of Tiananmen as a "vaccination" for Chinese society that "will greatly increase China's immunity against any major political turmoil in the future".
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sharply disagreed on how China has evolved as he hailed the "heroic protest movement" in a statement for the anniversary.
"Over the decades that followed, the United States hoped that China's integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerant society. Those hopes have been dashed," Pompeo said amid a tense US-China showdown on trade.
Pompeo denounced the "new wave of abuses" by China, including the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims in the far-west Xinjiang region, and urged a full account of what happened 30 years ago.
In spring 1989, students and workers gathered at Tiananmen Square -- the symbolic heart of Chinese power -- demanding democratic change and an end to corruption, inspiring protests across the country.
After seven weeks of demonstrations, the government deployed tanks and soldiers who chased and killed demonstrators and onlookers in the streets leading to the square on June 4.
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US pauses visa processing for individuals from 75 countries
New York/Washington (PTI): The Trump administration on Wednesday announced pausing immigrant visa processing for individuals from 75 countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Russia, as part of increasing crackdown on foreigners likely to rely on public benefits in the US.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the State Department said in a post on X.
“The Trump administration will PAUSE immigrant visa processing from 75 countries until the US can ensure that incoming immigrants will not become a public charge or extract wealth from American taxpayers. AMERICA FIRST,” the White House said in a post on X.
“The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people. The pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival. We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused," the State Department said.
"The Trump Administration will always put America First," the State Department added.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement, "The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people."
A report in the Fox News said that the pause will begin from January 21.
The State Department memo, seen first by Fox News Digital, directs “consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures”.
The list of countries include Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The Fox News report added that in November 2025, a State Department cable sent to missions around the globe instructed consular officers to “enforce sweeping new screening rules under the so-called "public charge" provision of immigration law.
The guidance had instructed US consular officers across the world to deem those individuals seeking to enter and live in the US ineligible if they have certain medical conditions, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, saying these people could end up relying on public benefits.
The foreigners applying for visas to live in the US “might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions”. “You must consider an applicant’s health…Certain medical conditions – including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, and mental health conditions – can require hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of care,” the cable had said.
The cable also advised visa officers to consider conditions like obesity in making their decisions, noting that the condition can cause asthma, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.
The guidance directed "visa officers to deem applicants ineligible to enter the US for several new reasons, including age or the likelihood they might rely on public benefits.
The guidance says that such people could become a “public charge” — "a potential drain on US resources — because of their health issues or age”.
The report added that older or overweight applicants could be denied, along with those who had any past use of government cash assistance or institutionalisation.
