Mrs. Ding Zilin, co-founder of the Tiananmen Mothers (a group of mothers of victims of the Tiananmen Massacre,) and her husband urged authorities to allow them to pay tribute to Zhao Ziyang, the deceased former General Secretary, at his home, but their request was rejected once again. “You absolutely cannot participate in any activities of this kind. This is a decision from above, and can not be changed at all,” said Liu Qiang, the section chief from the State Security Department who responded to the request.

Apple Daily reports that Mrs. Ding and her husband stated in a letter to Chen Kuide, President of the Institute of Chinese Studies at Princeton University and chief editor of the web magazine Watch, that officials from the State Security Department had turned down their request to visit Zhao’s family at their home on Fuqiang Lane to pay tribute to Mr. Zhao. However Mrs. Ding is not giving up. “According to reports from foreign news agencies, the relevant authorities have made a decision to hold a farewell ceremony for Zhao Ziyang at Beijing's Babaoshan Cemetery. We will not give up our rights to attend the ceremony, even to the last moment,” Mrs. Ding said.

“You are absolutely not allowed to participate in the activities of this kind, because you are not representing yourself in this matter,” Liu Qiang replied. The State Security section chief added, “Absolutely not allowed! This is not a personal matter. Every time you make some kind of move, the foreign media and rival forces will stir up trouble and publish one article after another to make an issue of it, which will seriously affect the security and stability of our country.”

The couple also revealed that they were put under even closer surveillance when Zhao was in critical condition and when he passed away. Their phones were tapped and their access to the Internet was cut off. They have been almost cut off from the outside world, they said. Only their daughter and her husband are allowed to visit them from time to time.