China Tightens Security, Shuts Tian An Men : Beijing: Troops ring the central square on the eve of the anniversary of last June’s massacre.

China’s hard-line Communist authorities tightened security in the capital Saturday and closed Tian An Men Square in an effort to head off any commemoration of last year’s June 3-4 army attack that crushed a student-led democracy movement.

One student in Beijing was seen wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the pro-democracy movement’s V-for-victory symbol. But there were no other signs outwardly marking the anniversary.

“The Chinese are very practical. They’re not going to do anything that clearly will fail,” said a student at Beijing Normal University, which was one of the protest centers.

The state-controlled media said the square, the political heart of Beijing and the heart of last spring’s demonstrations, would remain sealed today and Monday. Beijing residents said they had been warned about possible “terrorist” attacks.

Apart from the tightened security, activity on Beijing’s streets and at several universities appeared normal Saturday night. The largest crowd near Tian An Men Square was a long line of shoppers outside the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant south of the square.

The government warned foreign radio stations against broadcasting a taped program made by exiled Chinese dissidents.

Security guards patrolled Beijing campuses, and armed sentries were posted at a major intersection next to the main foreign residential compound in Beijing.

Tian An Men Square, where last year’s protesters had their headquarters, was turned into a carnival ground for selected elementary school children as part of celebrations for International Children’s Day.

Large numbers of troops and police ringed the vast central square, which was otherwise decked in festive regalia, with giant balloons swaying in a torrid breeze.

Paramilitary police stood guard and soldiers exercised noisily while thousands of children played games on the vast square.

Today, authorities plan a ceremony in the square to commemorate the 1840 Opium War against Britain, which official histories describe as an example of foreign imperialist aggression against China. The war was triggered by British trade in opium bought in India and sold in China, where it became a major social problem.

* GODDESS RETURNS

A replica of China’s Goddess of Democracy statue reappears at a Westwood rally. B1