On the eve before the 25^th anniversary of the June 4, 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, the government has increased security around the area, reports state.

Riot police and police patrol cars could be seen parked around the square and as far away as the avenue of Eternal Peace which is several blocks away from Tiananmen Square.

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Activists claim that the government's desire to quell any possible unrest on the eve of the 25^th anniversary has been a top priority this year and dozens of critics have been arrested leading up to the event.

The United States has urged China to free the protesters, journalists, and lawyers, some 48 in all, who have been arrested or placed under house arrest but the Chinese government has stated that all detentions have been 'lawful', citing the need to enforce the country's legal authority.

Most recently, Chinese-born Australian artists Guo Jian was detained by police on Sunday after the Financial Times published an interview in which the painter said that the Tiananmen Square massacre should never be removed from China's history regardless of the country's rise to become one of the most powerful nations in the world.

The government has also issued a warning to foreign reporters, prohibiting them from visiting so-called 'sensitive areas' and from interviewing people in public.

Reuters reported that its journalists were followed by police vehicles whenever they drove within the proximity of Tiananmen Square on Wednesday.

In 1989, thousands of pro-democracy students gathered in Tiananmen Square to stage anti-government protests. After occupying the Square for seven weeks, a military crackdown was carried out on June 4^th in which hundreds and even possibly thousands of demonstrators were killed by Chinese soldiers.

China's government has never issued a formal account of the number of casualties and public discussion of the 1989 incident is currently prohibited across the nation. 

TagsTiananmen Square, anniversary, massacre