PEK12:MAY 23 -- Workers prepare to put a drape over the portrait of the late Chairman Mao on the Gate of Heavenly Peace on Tuesday. Three people splattered paint on the portrait. Student protest leaders disclaim any responsibility for the incident.

 Another view back to the events of exactly 20 years ago.

After the first attempt to get troops into the center of the city failed, the authorities retrenched.  Suddenly  even policemen were nowhere to be found. Students started ad hoc traffic operations around the city and kept things moving. 

After some guys threw paint on the famous picture of Mao in Tiananmen.  I took the picture above and  was instantly assaulted by a teary-eyed mob .  After they  punched and ripped at my cameras, I was saved by a brave student. One of my cameras was damaged and I lost a watch. I didn't understand what the hell had happened. The guy who managed to get me out explained to me that the damage to the portrait was the equivalent of defacing an image of George Washington.  

PEK10:MAY 22 - Students direct traffic at an intersection from a police traffic stand. Protesters have taken over most of the major intersections leading to Tiananmen Square. 

We thought there was a power struggle behind closed doors but in fact, it was already decided in favor of the hard liners. It was just a matter of aligning all the needed forces and unifying the party behind the new direction.  

PEK11:MAY24 - Soldiers guard the entrance to Zhongnanhai, the communist Party headquarters compound. There is an apparent power struggle behind this gate between party chief Zhao Ziyang and Premier Li Peng. The sign in back translates "Serve the People"  

This is a part of a series I began last week  to post images of  China from exactly 20 years ago (almost to the day) leading up to June 4.