BEIJING (AP) — Three decades later, China’s ruling Communist Party remains relentless in its efforts to erase the public memory of the 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests that ended in a deadly military crackdown. That includes watching former activists and relatives of people who died in the attack. Among them is Fan Baolin. He said he sneaked out of China last year to escape surveillance that included video cameras trained on his apartment and pressure on his family to deter him from more activism. Fan took part in the 1989 demonstrations and later worked for the party’s vast security apparatus. He served a 17-year prison term for giving activists abroad confidential documents about surveillance of Chinese pro-democracy exiles.
