University students occupied this symbolically important site in the spring of 1989. Their calls for freedoms divided the party leadership. In retrospect, the decision to send in the troops marked a decisive turning point in the evolution of modern China, keeping the party firmly in control as it loosened economic restrictions.

For most Chinese, the 36th anniversary of a bloody crackdown that ended pro-democracy protests in China has passed like any other weekday. And that’s just how the ruling Communist Party wants it. Security

China has never provided a full death toll, but rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into thousands. Public discussion of what happened is taboo in China, which blamed the protests on counter-revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the ruling Communist Party.