Pro-Democracy Rally Dispersed Again in Beijing

Several thousand Chinese police swung into action early today for the second day in a row to disperse pro-democracy student protesters gathered outside Communist Party and government headquarters.

Acting firmly but with considerable restraint, as they had the morning before, police forced about 5,000 demonstrators away from Zhongnanhai, the red-walled compound in Beijing where many top officials live and work.

It took nearly four hours for police to disperse the crowd completely. About 150 protesters who refused to move away from Zhongnanhai were taken into custody and driven away in a bus to an unknown destination.

A few other protesters also were detained, and police were seen slapping, beating or kicking several more who were then allowed to flee. A Hong Kong photographer was roughly handled by police, detained and released.

Today marks the fourth successive day of escalating pro-democracy demonstrations.

Early Wednesday evening, a crowd of demonstrators and onlookers totaling between 20,000 and 30,000 gathered in Tian An Men Square in Beijing in the biggest protest rally there since 1976. Later in the evening, about 8,000 of these protesters--marching in a festive mood behind a banner declaring “Democracy and Science Will Make China Strong”--moved from the square to the boulevard in front of nearby Zhongnanhai.

Protests also continued Wednesday in Shanghai, with 3,000 students rallying at Fudan University, according to reports from that city. About 1,000 students and workers marched to People’s Square in the center of Shanghai.

The wave of protests was touched off by Saturday’s death from a heart attack of former Communist Party head Hu Yaobang, 73, who was widely viewed as the most liberal person in the top party leadership.