Monument to the People's Heroes at Tiananmen Square

( AFP/Getty Images / June 4, 2012 )

A Chinese paramilitary policeman stands guard beside the Monument to the People's Heroes at Tiananmen Square on the 23rd anniversary of China's crackdown of democracy protests, in Beijing on June 4, 2012. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, are believed to have died when the government sent in tanks and soldiers to clear Tiananmen Square on the night of June 3-4, 1989, bringing a violent end to six weeks of pro-democracy protests.