China Students, Police Clash During Protests
BEIJING — Police closed off roads leading to Beijing’s university area today after a protest in which hundreds of students hurled bricks and bottles at security forces on the anniversary of the bloody suppression of the pro-democracy movement.
Rifle-toting police set up roadblocks near universities in northwest Beijing and stopped most cars from entering. All foreign journalists were turned back.
One Western reporter saw three truckloads of riot police, armed with shields and rifles, entering the university area. Security forces armed with AK-47 rifles also patrolled near Beijing University.
About midnight Sunday, Western reporters outside Beijing University heard glass breaking and students clapping. Students hurled bottles and other objects at security forces on the street beneath their dormitory windows, setting off a campus rally of about 1,000 students.
The protest was the boldest anti-government demonstration since troops crushed the pro-democracy movement one year ago, and it defied the heaviest security Beijing has seen since martial law was lifted in January.
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