Friday marks the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, and dissenting voices in mainland China have received warnings from the authorities to hold their peace.

Dissidents, petitioners and civil rights advocates in Beijing and the provinces of Hubei, Sichuan, Guangdong and Guizhou were instructed to keep their mouths shut regarding the June 4 incident and not to publish any graphics or articles commemorating the event, or they would be placed into custody, Radio Free Asia reported.

Some of them were repeatedly summoned by national security agencies and asked to stay silent, or were taken away from home and sent on “forced vacations” ahead of June 4.

A resident surnamed Wang in Chengdu, Sichuan, on Thursday said police had been asking her to meet up in the last three days, despite her telling them that she was busy with household chores and had to visit the hospital as well.

The meeting was finally arranged at the entrance of Wang’s residential estate. She said they told her: “Don’t talk about June 4. You’d better shut up.”

Wang added: “They also told me not to comment or post anything about the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.” They stressed that if Wang acted against the advice, she would definitely be penalized heavily.

Another woman, surnamed Zhang, said that most of her friends, who were foreigners, were in a state of semi house arrest. Their mobile phones were confiscated and they were only allowed to stay home to take care of the elderly.

Zhang said she expected the situation to remain for a week or so.

People who have been detained over web discussions and June 4 memorial activities include dissident Chen Siming in Hunan, scholar Yang Shaozheng in Guizhou, activist Wang Aizhong in Guangdong and human rights advocate Huang Xiaomin in Sichuan.

National security officers warned Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, which used to stage prayer meetings on June 4, to prohibit any activities for the remembrance of June 4.

Mandatory travel was imposed as well. Dissidents Cha Jianguo and Hu Jia had to leave Beijing, while seven or eight people who were protesters of the 1989 democracy movement in Wuhan were also sent on compulsory trips. They included Zhang Yi, Zhu Tao and Li Yong, according to a local resident surnamed Liu.

In Guizhou, the suppression was especially severe. All members of the Guizhou Human Rights Symposium were either taken away by the police or forced to stay home, RFA reported, quoting another 1989 protest participant in the province.

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