Authorities announced the arrest Wednesday of two of 21 student leaders wanted for roles in the pro-democracy movement and ordered two Western reporters expelled for their reporting on the martial law crackdown.
Given three days to leave were John Pomfret of The Associated Press and Voice of America bureau chief Alan Pessin.The expulsion order came as authorities intensified criticism of the United States and pressed on with a nationwide clampdown on dissent that has already netted more than 1,000 arrests.
Communist authorities have criticized VOA, whose short-wave broadcasts are an important source of information for Chinese, as spreading "distortions." They also have condemned Washington for sheltering Chinese dissident Fang Lizhi and his wife, Li Shuxian, at the U.S. Embassy.
Authorities announced the arrest Wednesday of 32 participants in pro-democracy protests, which ended June 3-4 with a military assault on Beijing's center in which hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed.
The Communist Party newspaper, the People's Daily, warned the United States in a harsh front-page editorial to "stop interfering in China's internal affairs and not do anything to harm bilateral relations."
"Anyone who tries to put pressure on the Chinese government is not sensible and is shortsighted and will gain no advantage in the end," the editorial said Wednesday.
Police said Pomfret violated martial law regulations on reporting and had met with leaders of the independent student organizations that led seven weeks of protests for a freer China.
"Pomfret used his journalism credentials for illegal activities and used illegal methods to get state secrets," the Beijing television news charged.
In New York, Louis D. Boccardi, president and general manager of The Associated Press, said: "We deplore and have protested in the strongest terms to the Chinese government this unwarranted assault on fair and factual reporting. John Pomfret is a journalist, not a participant, and even those who have issued this order must surely understand that."
Pomfret, 30, has worked for The AP since 1986 and has been based in Beijing since 1988. He studied in China from 1980-82 and speaks fluent Chinese.
Pessin, 33, said police accused him of engaging in reporting aimed at distorting facts, spreading rumors and instigating turmoil and counterrevolutionary rebellion.
"The only motive we have is to tell the truth as best we can. Governments do not always like that," said Pessin.
"We are outraged and disappointed" at the expulsion of Pessin, said Richard Carlson, director of VOA. "They're trying to jam us intellectually as well as technically," he said in Washington. "Neither approach is going to work."
The official Xinhua News Agency Wednesday issued its first detailed account of the assault on Beijing, saying nearly 100 soldiers and police died and thousands were wounded. It said about 100 civilians were killed and nearly 1,000 injured.
The figures were lower than those given last week by a government spokesman, who said nearly 300 people were killed, including many soldiers. Chinese witnesses and Western intelligence estimates say about 3,000 people were killed, most of them civilians.
The government crackdown on dissent continued unabated, with national television announcing the arrest of two student leaders of the seven-week movement for a freer society.
National television said one of 21 student leaders of the pro-democracy movement, Zhou Fengsuo, was arrested in the central city of Xian after being turned in by his sister and her husband, who works at an air force academy.
The evening television news showed Zhou, a 22-year-old physics student at Qinghua University in Beijing, sitting in a police station being questioned.
A later report said Xiong Yan, 24, a graduate student of law at Beijing University, also was arrested but gave no details. He also was shown being questioned.
Television also reported that Fang Ke, a member of the independent student union that led the protests, surrendered to police in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Authorities have ordered all students and workers active in the squashed pro-democracy movement to turn themselves in.
Among them were Wu'er Kaixi, a Beijing Normal University student who in a televised meeting in May told Premier Li Peng to "stop beating around the bush" because China faced a political crisis."
Beijing Radio said 32 people, including workers, were arrested while trying to flee from the capital's railway station. Troops and police have set up checkpoints at the railway station and have been inspecting bags and identification papers.
The Xinhua report claimed that student protesters had received funds and materials from "overseas reactionary political forces," but did not specify them.
Other developments:
-Three Utahns reported safe/see A2.
-The People's Daily warned the United States in a harsh front-page editorial to stop interfering in China's internal affairs.
-The Xinhua News Agency issued its first detailed account of the assault on Beijing, saying 100 soldiers and police died. It said about 100 civilians were killed and 1,000 injured.
-U.S. Embassy's visa office reopens for business in Beijing/see A2.