China cracks down ahead of sensitive anniversaries

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    Date: 
    9 April 2009

    Beijing - An elderly retired professor is beaten black and blue by thugs, under the noses of the police, for stubbornly honoring the memory of an officially disgraced former leader.

    A well-known social commentator's website is shut down after posting articles moderately critical of arbitrary detentions.

    One of Beijing's biggest dailies has to remove from its website an editorial supporting citizen supervision of government – which government censors found unacceptable.

    This pattern of incidents over the past 10 days highlights a new wave of crackdowns that Chinese officials have launched to forestall any hint of unrest, as they brace for a string of politically sensitive anniversaries this year.