Remembering Tiananmen Square ......

-Source-ABC- This year marks the 29th anniversary of Chinas violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. More than a generation later this pivotal event in modern Chinese history still remains one of the most taboo subjects in China and one the Chinese Communist Party wishes could be forgotten to the pages of history. Every year as June 4 approaches -- the date the military retook the square from pro-democracy protesters -- security is stepped up journalists are barred from the vicinity and internet censors block any references to the incident. Even references as oblique as May 35 or emojis of a tank next to a man are scrubbed from the Chinese domestic internet. Heres why the events of June 4 1989 continue to haunt the Chinese. The site Tiananmen Square is the public square in front of the Tiananmen Gate or the Gate of Heavenly Peace where Mao Zedongs portrait has hung since he proclaimed the founding of the Peoples Republic of China on Oct. 1 1949. First built in the 17th century by the invading Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and greatly expanded under the Communist government the square at the heart of the Chinese capital has been the site of several historically significant events in Chinese history. Prior to 1989 the most significant protest occurred after the death of Chinas first premier Zhou Enlai in 1976 when students initially gathered in the square to mourn the late Chinese leader.