Fear, silence, tensions with US mark Tiananmen's 30th anniversary in China

In spring 1989, students and workers gathered at the symbolic heart of Chinese power to demand democratic change and an end to corruption, inspiring protests across the country

Beijing marked 30 years since the deadly Tiananmen crackdown on Tuesday with a wall of silence and extra security, while trading barbs with the United States over China's human rights record.

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. Officials also told one reporter that "illegal media behaviour" could impact visa renewals.

The United States marked