Like much of Beijing, the square and its surroundings are getting a facelift ahead of the August Olympics. A countdown clock to the August 8 start of the games dominates one side, while tunnels leading to the square are being refurbished, the construction work covered with banners reading “Join hands with the Olympics, make a date with Beijing in 2008.”

Nearby, peddlers hawked trinkets bearing the Olympic logo as visitors wore T-shirts reading “I love China.”

In an earlier appeal, Human Rights Watch also urged China to free Tiananmen prisoners to show “the global Olympic audience it’s serious about human rights.” The group, based in New York, said about 130 prisoners are still being held for the demonstrations.

China pledged to improve its human rights situation when bidding to host the 2008 Olympics. But one Tiananmen activist, whose son was killed as he hid from soldiers enforcing martial law, scoffed when asked whether the August games had spurred the government to change its attitude.

“I don’t have this kind of illusion,” said Ding Zilin, co-founder of Tiananmen Mothers, a group representing families of those who died. She has campaigned to get the government to acknowledge those killed in the crackdown and compensate their families for the deaths.