Thirty years ago today a military crackdown to clear a student-led pro-democracy protest from Beijing’s Tiananmen Square left hundreds, perhaps more than 1,000 dead. The killings shocked the world and have had a lasting impact on China including Hong Kong in particular. Much has changed since then. Focus on economic development that has lifted hundreds of millions from poverty has helped Beijing in its efforts to sweep the events of June 4, 1989, under the carpet. But they still haunt the leadership.
