This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8080437.stm

The article has changed 18 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Hong Kong blocks Tiananmen exile High security in Tiananmen Square
(about 6 hours later)
The Hong Kong government has refused entry to a former leader of the democracy movement centred around Tiananmen Square in 1989. China has boosted security in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, ahead of Thursday's anniversary of the killings in 1989.
Xiang Xiaoji, now a US citizen, was trying to come to Hong Kong to join commemorative events being held to mark the Tiananmen massacre of 4 June. Many dissidents say they have been told to leave Beijing or are confined to their homes.
Twenty years ago Chinese troops killed hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters in the capital Beijing. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people died in the Tiananmen crackdown, and open discussion of the events of 20 years ago remains taboo in China.
As a former British colony, Hong Kong is guaranteed autonomy. Even in Hong Kong, where freedom of expression is guaranteed, some dissidents have been denied entry.
But bans on Mr Xiang and others are adding to a growing sense of unease over how solid the territory's rights record really is. Xiang Xiaoji, now a US citizen, was trying to come to Hong Kong on Wednesday to join commemorative events being held to mark the anniversary. But he was refused entry and returned to New York.
In June 1989, Mr Xiang led a student delegation from Tiananmen Square in a dialogue with government leaders. Turned away
After the brutal crackdown he had to flee into exile and now holds an American passport. On the eve of the anniversary, police have been examining visitors at checkpoints dotted around Tiananmen Square, and checking the bags and papers of people in the area.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when China sent in the army class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8071348.stm">Tiananmen figures: Ding Zilin
When he flew into Hong Kong on Tuesday night, he was detained for five hours and then put on a plane back to New York. Some journalists say they have been turned away from the site. Ding Zilin, the head of a group called Tiananmen Mothers - made up of women whose children were shot dead in the crackdown - has reportedly been blocked from leaving her home, as has the wife of jailed dissident Hu Jia.
One other exiled Tiananmen leader, Xiong Yan, was allowed into Hong Kong at the weekend. Bao Tong - a former official who was purged for sympathising with the Tiananmen protesters - was escorted out of Beijing last week.
But the Danish sculptor who made the Pillar of Shame statue, Jens Galschiot, was refused entry. The Chinese Communist Party has never held an official inquiry into what happened in and around the square 20 years ago, and discussion of the issue is banned on the mainland.
Hong Kong 'handicapped' In the run-up to the anniversary, the authorities are also blocking social networking sites such as Twitter and Flickr.
The Chinese Communist Party has banned discussion on the mainland of the democracy movement and the events in Tiananmen Square. Even the architect of Beijing's Bird's Nest Olympic stadium, Ai Weiwei, says his blogs have been blocked.
It has now also blocked access to the social networking site Twitter, Hotmail accounts and the photo-sharing site, Flickr. "Three of my blogs have all been shut down," he told the BBC. "I don't know the exact reason, but I can sense it's about the coming-up anniversary."
Hong Kong, by contrast, has its rights to freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed by international treaty. Influence from Beijing?
But the ruling elite of Beijing-appointed civil servants and powerful business figures, believes closeness to Beijing is the only guarantee of survival. In Hong Kong, too, there is evidence of pre-anniversary sensitivities.
Yet the majority of Hong Kong people consistently show in surveys that they want the freedoms they were promised. HK students are on hunger strike to press China to re-examine 1989
Legislator James To, a lawyer for Mr Xiang, told the BBC the refusal to allow Mr Xiang to enter Hong Kong was a "disgrace" and hurt Hong Kong's image as an international city. While one exiled Tiananmen leader, Xiong Yan, was allowed into Hong Kong at the weekend, another student leader, Xiang Xiaoji, and a Danish sculptor who made a statue entitled Pillar of Shame were both denied entry.
He said it was a sign that Hong Kong's government was "handicapped" due to pressure from Beijing. As a former British colony, Hong Kong is guaranteed autonomy and freedom of expression by the Chinese, but bans on Mr Xiang and others are adding to a growing sense of unease over how solid the territory's rights record really is.
According to the BBC's Vaudine England in Hong Kong, the ruling elite of Beijing-appointed civil servants and powerful business figures believes closeness to Beijing is the only guarantee of survival.
Yet the majority of Hong Kong people consistently suggest in surveys that they want the freedoms they were promised.