China Troops to End 5-Month Guard at Tian An Men Square
BEIJING — China announced today that troops will end their five-month-long guard over Tian An Men Square and the capital’s main road junctions but that Beijing will remain under martial law.
The announcement was made during a weeklong visit by former President Richard M. Nixon and on the eve of an important plenary meeting of the Communist Party’s Central Committee.
The soldiers, who have guarded Tian An Men since they crushed student-led demonstrations June 4, will be replaced by armed police beginning Wednesday, a state radio broadcast said.
It said that beginning immediately troops will no longer stand guard at major crossroads and intersections but will continue to patrol parts of Beijing with police.
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