25 years ago thousands of pro-democracy students were murdered by their government for exercising their human rights in Tiananmen Square. I remember the weeks leading up to the massacre and thought just maybe China would follow the pro-democracy movements sweeping Eastern Europe and the students of Tiananmen would lead their nation in a peaceful revolution. And I will never forger the horror of the night of 3 JUN and all day 4 JUN 1989. The savagery of the attack of the students and other protesters in Tiananmen Square, the wanton slaughter of civilians across Beijing who tried to stop the pla troops from reaching the square, the thousands of others across China who were killed for peacefully demonstrating for their human rights, for freedom and democracy. I was so angry about the flippant way the communist leadership decided to end the Eighty-Nine Democracy Movement 八九民運
| in bloodshed. Every year on this date I remember the |
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| victims of Tiananmen Square, and how the people of China |
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| still suffer, are repressed, enslaved, tortured, and die under |
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| the brutal rule of the communist party. It is a sad and tragic |
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| legecy for what could be a great nation. Here is the history |
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| of the Eighty-Nine Democracy movement from Wikipedia |
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| ...... |
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Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| June Fourth Incident | |||
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| Part of Chinese Democracy Movement in 1989 | |||
![Wider shot by Stuart Franklin showing the rest of the tank column.[1]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tank_Man_Long_Shot_by_Stuart_Franklin.jpg)
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| Date | 15 April 1989 – 4 June 1989 (1 month, 2 weeks and 6 days) |
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| Location | Beijing 400 cities nationwide |
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| Causes |
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| Goals | Social equality, "A Communist Party Without Corruption", freedom of the press, freedom of speech, socialism, democracy | ||
| Methods | Hunger strike, sit-in, occupation of public square | ||
| Result |
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| Parties to the civil conflict | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
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| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | 241–2,600 | ||
| Injuries | 7,000–10,000 | ||
The Chinese government condemned the protests as a "counter-revolutionary riot", and has prohibited all forms of discussion or remembrance of the events since.[5][6] Due to the lack of information from China, many aspects of the events remain unknown or unconfirmed. Estimates of the death toll range from a few hundred to the thousands.[7]
The protests were triggered in April 1989 by the death of former Communist Party General Secretary, Hu Yaobang, a liberal reformer, who was deposed after losing a power struggle with hardliners over the direction of political and economic reform.[8] University students marched and gathered in Tiananmen Square to mourn. Hu had also voiced grievances against inflation, limited career prospects, and corruption of the party elite.[9] The protesters called for government accountability, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the restoration of workers' control over industry.[10][11] At the height of the protests, about a million people assembled in the Square.[12]
The government initially took a conciliatory stance toward the protesters.[13] The student-led hunger strike galvanized support for the demonstrators around the country and the protests spread to 400 cities by mid-May.[14] Ultimately, China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and other party elders resolved to use force.[15] Party authorities declared martial law on May 20, and mobilized as many as 300,000 troops to Beijing.[14]
In the aftermath of the crackdown, the government conducted widespread arrests of protesters and their supporters, cracked down on other protests around China, expelled foreign journalists and strictly controlled coverage of the events in the domestic press. The police and internal security forces were strengthened. Officials deemed sympathetic to the protests were demoted or purged.[16] Zhao Ziyang was ousted in a party leadership reshuffle and replaced with Jiang Zemin. Political reforms were largely halted and economic reforms did not resume until Deng Xiaoping's 1992 southern tour.[17][18] The Chinese government was widely condemned internationally for the use of force against the protesters. Western governments imposed economic sanctions and arms embargoes.
Names
| Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 | |||
| Chinese | 六四事件 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Literal meaning | June Fourth Incident | ||
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| Name used by the PRC Government | |||
| Chinese | 1989年春夏之交的政治风波 | ||
| Literal meaning | Political turmoil between the Spring and Summer of 1989 | ||
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| Second alternative Chinese name | |||
| Chinese | 八九民運 | ||
| Literal meaning | Eighty-Nine Democracy Movement | ||
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Outside mainland China, and among circles critical of the crackdown within mainland China, it is commonly referred to in Chinese as June Fourth Massacre (Chinese: 六四屠杀; pinyin: Liù-Sì Túshā) and June Fourth Crackdown (Chinese: 六四镇压; pinyin: Liù-Sì Zhènyā). To bypass internet censorship in China, which uniformly considers all the above-mentioned names too 'sensitive' for search engines and public forums, alternative names have sprung up to describe the events on the Internet, such as May 35th, VIIV (Roman numerals for 6 and 4) and "Eight Squared" (i.e., 82 = 64).[6]
The government of the People's Republic of China have used numerous names for the event since 1989, gradually reducing the intensity of terminology applied.[5] As the events were unfolding, it was labelled a "counterrevolutionary riot", which was later changed to simply "riot", followed by "political storm", and finally the leadership settled on the more neutralized phrase "political turmoil between the Spring and Summer of 1989," which it uses to this day.[5][19]
In English, the terms Tiananmen Square Protests or Tiananmen Square Crackdown are often used to describe the series of events. The term Tiananmen Square Massacre was also commonly used by the media, but journalistic use has waned in recent years.[15] This is because much of the violence did not actually happen in Tiananmen, but outside the square in the city of Beijing near the Muxidi area.[15] The term also gives a misleading impression that demonstrations only happened in Beijing, when in fact they occurred in many cities throughout China.[15]
Background
To run his reform agenda, Deng promoted his allies to top government and party posts. Hu Yaobang was appointed the General Secretary of the CPC in February 1980, and Zhao Ziyang was named as Premier in September.
Challenges with reform
The reforms aimed to decrease the role of the state in the economy and gradually introduced private forms of production in agriculture and industry. By 1981, 73% of rural farms had decollectivized and 80% of state owned enterprises were permitted to retain profits. Within a few years, production increased by leaps and bounds, and poverty was reduced dramatically.While the reforms were generally well received by the public, concerns grew over a series of social problems that the changes brought about, including corruption and nepotism by elite party bureaucrats.[20] The state-mandated pricing system, in place since the 1950s, had long kept prices stable at low levels that reduced incentives to increase production. The initial reforms created a two-tier system where some prices were fixed while others were allowed to fluctuate. In a market with chronic shortages, this allowed people with powerful connections to buy goods at low prices and sell at market prices.[21] In addition, the money supply had expanded too fast. At least a third of factories were unprofitable. The government tightened the money supply in 1988, leaving much of the economy without loans.[21]
Following the 1988 Beidaihe meeting, the party leadership under Deng agreed to a transition to a market-based pricing system.[22][23] News of the relaxation of price controls triggered waves of cash withdrawals, buying and hoarding all over China.[24] The government panicked and rescinded the price reforms in less than two weeks, but its impact was pronounced for a much longer period of time. Inflation soared. Official indices report a Consumer Price Index increase of 30% in Beijing between 1987–88, leading to panic among salaried workers that they could no longer afford staple goods.[25] Moreover, in the new market economy, unprofitable state-owned enterprises were pressured to cut costs. The "iron rice bowl", i.e., job security and a host of social benefits that come with it, ranging from medical care to subsidized housing, were at risk for a vast segment of the population.[25][26]
Social disenfranchisement and legitimacy crisis
At the same time, the party's nominally socialist ideology faced a legitimacy crisis as it gradually adopted capitalist practices.[33] Private enterprise gave rise to profiteers who took advantage of lax regulations, and who often flaunted their wealth in front of the 'have-nots' of society.[25] Popular discontent was brewing over unfair wealth distribution. Greed, not skill, appeared to be the most crucial factor of success. There was widespread public disillusionment over the country's future. People wanted change, yet the power to define 'the correct path' continued to rest solely in the hands of the government.[33]
The comprehensive and wide-ranging reforms created political differences over the pace of marketization and the control over the ideology that came with it. The reformers ("the right", led by Hu Yaobang) favoured political liberalization and a plurality of ideas as a channel to voice popular discontent, and pressed for further reforms. The conservatives ("the left", led by Chen Yun) said that the reforms had gone too far, and advocated for a return to greater state control to ensure social stability and to better align with the party's socialist ideology. Both sides needed the backing of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping to carry out important policy decisions.[3]
1986 student demonstrations
In the summer of 1986, astrophysics professor Fang Lizhi, who had returned from a tenure at Princeton University, began a personal tour around universities in China, speaking about liberty, human rights, and separation of powers. He became immensely popular and his recorded speeches were widely circulated among students.[34] In response, Deng Xiaoping warned that Fang was worshipping Western lifestyles, capitalism, and multi-party systems, while undermining China's socialist ideology, traditional values, and the party's leadership.[34]Inspired by Fang and other 'people-power' movements around the world, in December 1986, student demonstrators staged protests against the slow pace of reform. The issues were wide-ranging, and included demands for economic liberalization, democracy, and rule of law.[35] While the protests were initially contained in Hefei, where Fang lived, it quickly spread to Beijing and other major cities. The central leadership was alarmed by the protests, and accused the students of fomenting Cultural Revolution-style turmoil.
General Secretary Hu Yaobang was blamed for taking a soft attitude and mishandling the protests, thus undermining social stability. He was denounced thoroughly by conservatives. Hu was forced to resign as General Secretary on 16 January 1987. Following his resignation, the party began the "Anti Bourgeois Liberalization Campaign", taking aim at Hu, political liberalization, and Western-inspired ideas in general.[36] The Campaign put a stop to student protests and tightened the political environment, but Hu remained popular with progressives within the party, intellectuals, and students.[37]
Protest development
| Name | Origin and affiliation |
|---|---|
| Chai Ling | Shandong; Beijing Normal University |
| Wu'erkaixi (Örkesh) |
Xinjiang; Beijing Normal University |
| Wang Dan | Beijing; Peking University |
| Feng Congde | Sichuan; Peking University |
| Shen Tong | Beijing; Peking University |
| Wang Youcai | Zhejiang; Peking University |
| Li Lu | Hebei; Nanjing University |
| Zhou Yongjun | China University of Political Science and Law |
Death of Hu Yaobang
When Hu Yaobang suddenly died of a heart attack on 15 April 1989, students reacted strongly. Hu's death provided the initial impetus for students to gather in large numbers.[38] In university campuses, many posters appeared eulogizing Hu, calling for a reversal of Hu's legacy. Within days, most posters were writing about broader political issues, such as freedom of the press, democracy, and corruption.[39] Small spontaneous gatherings to mourn Hu began on 15 April around Monument to the People's Heroes at Tiananmen Square. On the same day, many students at Peking University (PKU) and Tsinghua University erected shrines, and joined the gathering in Tiananmen Square in a piecemeal fashion. Organized student gatherings also began on a small scale in Xi'an and Shanghai on 16 April. On 17 April, students at the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) made a large wreath to commemorate Hu Yaobang. Its laying-party was on 17 April and a larger-than-expected crowd assembled.[40] At five p.m., 500 CUPL students reached the eastern gate of the Great Hall of the People, near Tiananmen Square, to mourn Hu. The gathering featured speakers from various backgrounds giving public orations commemorating Hu and discussing social problems. However, it was soon deemed obstructive to the operation of the Great Hall, so police intervened and attempted to disperse the students by persuasion.Starting on the night of 17 April, three thousand PKU students marched from the campus towards Tiananmen Square, and soon nearly a thousand students from Tsinghua joined. Upon arrival, they soon joined forces with those already gathered at the Square. As its size grew, the gathering gradually evolved into a protest, as students began to draft a list of pleas and suggestions (Seven Demands) for the government:
- Affirm as correct Hu Yaobang's views on democracy and freedom;
- Admit that the campaigns against spiritual pollution and bourgeois liberalization had been wrong;
- Publish information on the income of state leaders and their family members;
- End the ban on privately run newspapers and stop press censorship;
- Increase funding for education and raise intellectuals' pay;
- End restrictions on demonstrations in Beijing
- Provide objective coverage of students in official media.[41][42]
On 20 April, most students had been persuaded to leave Xinhua Gate. To disperse about 200 students that remained, police employed batons; minor clashes were reported. Many students felt they were abused by the police, and rumours about police brutality spread quickly. The Xinhua Gate incident angered students on campus, where those who were not politically active decided to join the protests.[43] Also on this date, a group of workers calling themselves the "Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation" issued two handbills challenging the central leadership.[44]
Hu's state funeral took place on 22 April. On the evening of 21 April, some 100,000 students marched on Tiananmen Square, ignoring orders from Beijing municipal authorities that the Square was to be closed off for the funeral. The funeral, which took place inside the Great Hall and attended by the leadership, was broadcast live to the students. General Secretary Zhao Ziyang delivered the eulogy. The funeral seemed rushed, and only lasted 40 minutes, as emotions ran high in the Square. Students wept.[3][45][46]
Security cordoned off the east entrance to the Great Hall, but several students pressed forward. Three of these students knelt on the steps of the Great Hall to present a petition and demanded to see Premier Li Peng.[47] However, no leaders emerged from the Great Hall, leaving the students disappointed and angry; some called for a class boycott.[47]
From 21 to 23 April, students began organizing under the banners of formal organizations. On 23 April, the "Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation" (also known as "the Union") was formed. It elected CUPL student Zhou Yongjun as chair; Wang Dan and Wu'erkaixi also emerged as leaders. From this vantage point, the Union called for a general class boycott at all Beijing universities. Such an independent organization operating outside of party jurisdiction alarmed the leadership.[48]
On 22 April, near dusk, serious rioting broke out in Changsha and Xi'an. In Xi'an, arson from rioters destroyed cars and houses, and looting occurred in shops near the city's Xihua Gate. In Changsha, 38 stores were ransacked by looters. Over 350 people were arrested in both cities. In Wuhan, university students organized protests against the provincial government. As the situation became more volatile nationally, Zhao Ziyang called numerous meetings of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). Zhao stressed three points: discourage students from further protests and ask them to go back to class, use all measures necessary to combat rioting, and open forms of dialogue with students at different levels of government.[4] Premier Li Peng called upon Zhao to condemn protestors and recognize the need to take more serious action. Zhao dismissed Li's views. Despite calls for him to remain in Beijing, Zhao left for a scheduled state visit to North Korea on 23 April.[49]
Turning point: April 26 Editorial
Main article: April 26 Editorial
Zhao's departure to North Korea left Li Peng as the acting executive
authority in Beijing. On 24 April, Li Peng and the PSC met with Beijing
Party Secretary Li Ximing and mayor Chen Xitong
to gauge the situation at the Square. The municipal officials wanted a
quick resolution to the crisis, and framed the protests as a conspiracy
to overthrow China's political system and major party leaders, including
Deng Xiaoping. In Zhao's absence, the PSC agreed that firm action
against protesters must be taken.[49] On the morning of 25 April, President Yang Shangkun and Premier Li Peng
met with Deng at the latter's residence. Deng endorsed a hardline
stance and said an appropriate 'warning' must be disseminated via mass
media to curb further demonstrations.[50]
The meeting firmly established the first official evaluation of the
protests from the leadership, and highlighted Deng's having 'final say'
on important issues. Li Peng subsequently ordered Deng's views to be
drafted as a communique and issued to all high-level Communist Party
officials in an effort to mobilize the party apparatus against
protesters.On 26 April, the party's official newspaper People's Daily issued a front-page editorial titled "It is necessary to take a clear-cut stand against disturbances." The language in the editorial effectively branded the student movement to be an anti-party, anti-government revolt.[51] The article enraged students, who interpreted it as a direct indictment on the protests and its cause. The editorial backfired. Instead of scaring students into submission, it squarely antagonized the students against the government.[52] The polarizing nature of the editorial made it a major sticking point for the remainder of the protests.[50] The editorial evoked memories of the Cultural Revolution, employing similar rhetoric as that used during the 1976 Tiananmen Incident - an event that was initially branded an anti-government conspiracy but was later rehabilitated as "patriotic" under Deng's leadership.[3]
April 27 Demonstration
Main article: April 27 Demonstration
Organized by the Union, on 27 April some 50,000–100,000 students from
all Beijing universities marched through the streets of the capital to
Tiananmen Square, breaking through lines set up by police, and receiving
widespread public support along the way, particularly from factory
workers.[3]
The student leaders, eager to show the patriotic nature of the
movement, also toned down anti-Communist slogans, choosing to present a
message of "anti-corruption, anti-cronyism" but "pro-party".[52]
In a twist of irony, student factions who genuinely called for the
overthrow of the Communist Party gained traction as a result of the 26
April Editorial.[52]The stunning success of the March forced the government into making concessions and meeting with student representatives. On 29 April, State Council spokesman Yuan Mu met with appointed representatives of government-sanctioned student associations. While the talks discussed a wide range of issues, including the editorial, the Xinhua Gate incident, and freedom of the press, they achieved few substantive results. Independent student leaders such as Wuer Kaixi refused to attend.[53]
The government's tone grew increasingly conciliatory as Zhao Ziyang returned from Pyongyang on 30 April and resumed his executive authority. In Zhao's view, the hardliner approach was not working, and concession was the only alternative.[54] Zhao asked that the press be opened to report the movement positively, and delivered two sympathetic speeches on 3–4 May. In the speeches, Zhao said that the student's concerns about corruption were legitimate, and that the student movement was patriotic in nature.[55] The speeches essentially negated the message presented by 26 April Editorial. While some 100,000 students marched on the streets of Beijing on 4 May to commemorate the May Fourth Movement and repeat demands from earlier marches, many students were satisfied with the government's concessions.[56] On 4 May, all Beijing universities except PKU and BNU announced the end of the class boycott. Subsequently, the majority of students began to lose interest in the movement.[56]
Protests escalate
Preparing for dialogue
The leadership was divided on how to respond to the movement as early as mid-April. After Zhao Ziyang's return from North Korea, the divisions intensified. Those who supported continued dialogue and a soft approach with students rallied behind Zhao Ziyang, while hardliner conservatives who opposed the movement rallied behind Premier Li Peng. Zhao and Li clashed at a PSC meeting on 1 May. Li maintained that the need for stability overrides all else, while Zhao said that the party should show support for increased democracy and transparency. Zhao pushed the case for further dialogue.[55]In preparation for dialogue, the Autonomous Student Union elected representatives to a formal Dialogue Delegation. However, the Union leaders were reluctant to let the Delegation unilaterally take control of the movement.[57] Facing internal discord and declining engagement from the student body at large, a group of charismatic leaders, including Wang Dan and Wu'erkaixi, called for more radical measures to regain momentum. They believed that the government's 'dialogue' was merely a way to trick the students into submission. They began mobilizing students for a hunger strike on 11 May.[57]
Hunger strikes begin
Students began the hunger strike on 13 May, two days prior to the highly publicized state visit by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Knowing that the welcoming ceremony for Gorbachev was scheduled to be held on the Square, student leaders wanted to use the hunger strike there as a bargaining chip to force the government into meeting their demands. Moreover, the hunger strike gained widespread sympathy from the population at large and earned the student movement the moral high ground that it sought.[58] By the afternoon of 13 May, some 300,000 were gathered at the Square.[59]Inspired by the course of events in Beijing, protests and strikes began at universities in other cities, with many students traveling to Beijing to join the demonstration. Generally, the demonstration at Tiananmen Square was well-ordered, with daily marches of students from various Beijing-area colleges displaying their solidarity with the class boycott and with the demands of the protest. The students sang The Internationale, the world socialist anthem, on their way to, and within, the square.[60]
Afraid that the movement would now spin out of control, Deng Xiaoping asked that the Square be cleared for the Gorbachev visit. Executing Deng's request, Zhao used a soft approach, and directed his subordinates to coordinate negotiations with students immediately.[58] Zhao believed he could appeal to the students' patriotism, and that the students understood signs of internal turmoil during the Sino-Soviet summit would embarrass the nation (not just the government). On the morning of 13 May, Yan Mingfu, head of the Party's United Front, called an emergency meeting, gathering prominent student leaders and intellectuals, including Liu Xiaobo, Chen Ziming and Wang Juntao.[61] Yan said the government was prepared to hold immediate dialogue with student representatives, but that the Tiananmen welcoming ceremony for Gorbachev would be cancelled whether the students withdraw or not—in effect removing the bargaining power the students thought they possessed. The announcement sent the student leadership into disarray.[62]
Gorbachev visit
Press restrictions were loosened significantly during early to mid May. State media began broadcasting footage sympathetic to protesters and the movement, including the hunger strikers. On 14 May, intellectuals led by Dai Qing gained permission from Hu Qili to bypass government censorship and air the progressive views of the nation's intellectuals on Guangming Daily. The intellectuals then issued an urgent appeal for the students to leave the Square in an attempt to deescalate the conflict.[59] Many students, however, believed that the intellectuals were speaking for the government, and refused to budge. That evening, formal negotiations took place between government representatives led by Yan Mingfu and student representatives led by Shen Tong and Xiang Xiaoji. Yan affirmed the patriotic nature of the student movement and pleaded for the students to withdraw from the Square.[62] While Yan's apparent sincerity for compromise satisfied some students, the meeting grew increasingly chaotic as competing student factions relayed uncoordinated and incoherent demands to the leadership. Shortly after student leaders learned that the event had not been broadcast nationally as initially promised by the government, the meeting fell apart.[63] Yan then personally went to the Square to appeal to the students, even offering himself to be held hostage.[3] Yan also took the student's pleas to Li Peng the next day, asking Li to consider formally retracting the 26 April Editorial and re-branding the movement as "patriotic and democratic"; Li refused.[64]
Gathering momentum
The hunger strike galvanized support for the students and aroused sympathy across the country. Around a million Beijing residents from all walks of life demonstrated in solidarity on 17–18 May. These included PLA personnel, police officers, and lower party officials.[12] Many grassroots Party and Youth League organizations, as well as government-sponsored labour unions, encouraged their membership to demonstrate.[12] In addition, several of China's non-Communist parties sent a letter to Li Peng in support of students. The Chinese Red Cross issued a special notice and sent in a large number of personnel to provide medical services to the hunger strikers on the Square. After the departure of Mikhail Gorbachev, many foreign journalists remained in the Chinese capital to cover the protests, giving the movement international spotlight. Western governments urged Beijing to exercise restraint.The movement, on the wane at the end of April, now regained significant momentum. By 17 May, as students from across the country poured into the capital to join the movement, protests of varying sizes were occurring in some 400 Chinese cities.[14] Students demonstrated at provincial party headquarters in Fujian, Hubei, and Xinjiang. Without a clearly articulated official position from the Beijing leadership, local authorities did not know how to respond. Since the demonstrations now incorporated a wide array of social groups, each carrying its own set of grievances, it became increasingly unclear with whom the government should negotiate, and what exactly the demands were. The government, continuing to be split on how to deal with the movement, saw its authority and legitimacy gradually erode as the hunger strikers took the limelight and gained widespread sympathy.[12] These combined circumstances put immense pressure on the authorities to act, and martial law was discussed as a viable response.[66]
Since the situation seemed intractable, the weight of taking decisive action fell on paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. On 17 May, a PSC meeting was called at Deng's residence.[67][68] At the meeting, Zhao Ziyang's concessions-based strategy was thoroughly criticized. Li Peng and Deng asserted that by making a conciliatory speech on 4 May, Zhao exposed divisions within the top leadership and emboldened the students.[68] Deng warned that if Beijing was not pacified quickly, the country risked civil war and another Cultural Revolution; his views were echoed by the party elders.[69] Deng then moved to declare martial law as a show of the government's no-tolerance stance.[70] To justify martial law, the demonstrators were described as tools of "bourgeois liberalism" advocates who were pulling the strings behind the scenes, as well as tools of elements within the party who wished to further their personal ambitions.[71]
On the evening of 17 May, the PSC met at Zhongnanhai to finalize plans for martial law. At the meeting, Zhao announced that he was ready to "take leave", citing he could not bring himself to carry out martial law. Hu Qili also voiced his reluctance. While Li Peng and Yao Yilin both supported declaring martial law, Qiao Shi was ambivalent.[72] Qiao said that while he opposed further concessions, he did not see martial law as a practical way to resolve the matter. The elders in attendance at the meeting, Bo Yibo and Yang Shangkun, urged the PSC to follow Deng's orders.[72] Zhao did not consider the inconclusive PSC vote to have legally binding implications on martial law;[73] Yang Shangkun, in his capacity as Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, went on to mobilize the military to move into the capital.
Students, we came too late. We are sorry. You talk about us,
criticize us, it is all necessary. The reason that I came here is not to
ask you to forgive us. All I want to say is that students are getting
very weak, it is the 7th day since you went on hunger strike, you can't
continue like this. [...] You are still young, there are still many days
yet to come, you must live healthy, and see the day when China
accomplishes the four modernizations. You are not like us, we are
already old, it doesn't matter to us any more.
“
”
– Zhao Ziyang at Tiananmen Square. 19 May 1989.
In the early morning of 19 May, Zhao Ziyang went to Tiananmen in what became his political swan song. He was accompanied by Wen Jiabao. Li Peng also went to the Square, but left shortly thereafter. At 4:50 am Zhao made a speech with a bullhorn to a crowd of students, urging the students to end the hunger strike.[75] He told the students that they were still young and urged them to stay healthy and not to sacrifice themselves without due concern for their futures. Zhao's emotional speech was applauded by some students. It would be his last public appearance.[75]
On 19 May, the PSC met with military leaders and party elders. Deng presided over the meeting and said that martial law was the only option. At the meeting Deng declared that he was 'mistaken' in choosing Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang as his successors, and resolved to remove Zhao from his position as General Secretary. Deng also vowed to deal resolutely with Zhao's supporters and begin propaganda work.
Outside Beijing
Main article: International Material Gifts From Outside Mainland China During the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests
University students in Shanghai also took to the streets to
commemorate the death of Hu Yaobang and protest against certain policies
of the government. In many cases, these were supported by the
universities' Party committees. Jiang Zemin,
then-Municipal Party Secretary, addressed the student protesters in a
bandage and 'expressed his understanding', as he was a former student
agitator before 1949. At the same time, he moved swiftly to send in
police forces to control the streets and to purge Communist Party
leaders who had supported the students.On 19 April, the editors of the World Economic Herald, a magazine close to reformists, decided to publish a commemorative section on Hu. Inside was an article by Yan Jiaqi, which commented favourably on the Beijing student protests, and called for a reassessment of Hu's 1987 purge. Sensing the conservative political trends in Beijing, Jiang Zemin demanded that the article be censored. Many newspapers were printed with a blank page.[76] Jiang then suspended Qin Benli. His decisive action earned accolades from party elders, who praised Jiang's loyalty.
In Hong Kong, on 27 May, over 300,000 people gathered at Happy Valley Racecourse for a gathering called "Democratic songs dedicated for China"(民主歌聲獻中華). Many Hong Kong celebrities sang songs and expressed their support for the students in Beijing.[77] The following day, a procession of 1.5 million people, one fourth of Hong Kong's population, led by Martin Lee, Szeto Wah and other organization leaders, paraded through Hong Kong Island. Across the world, especially where ethnic-Chinese lived, people gathered and protested. Many governments, including those of the United States and Japan, issued travel warnings to China.
Military action
Martial law
The Chinese government declared martial law on 20 May, and mobilized at least 30 divisions from five of the country's seven military regions.[78] At least 14 of PLA's 24 army corps contributed troops.[79] As many as 250,000 troops were eventually sent to the capital, some arriving by air and others by rail.[80] Guangzhou's civil aviation authorities put regular airline tickets on hold to prepare for transporting military units.[81]The Army's entry into the city was blocked at its suburbs by throngs of protesters. Tens of thousands of demonstrators surrounded military vehicles, preventing them from either advancing or retreating. Protesters lectured soldiers and appealed to them to join their cause; they also provided soldiers with food, water, and shelter. Seeing no way forward, the authorities ordered the army to withdraw on 24 May. All government forces retreated to bases outside the city.[14][82] While the Army's retreat was initially seen as 'turning the tide' in favour of protesters, in reality mobilization took place across the country for a final assault.[81]
At the same time, internal divisions intensified within the student movement itself. By late May, the students became increasingly disorganized with no clear leadership or unified course of action. Moreover, Tiananmen Square was overcrowded and facing serious hygiene problems. Hou Dejian suggested an open election of the student leadership to speak for the movement, but was met with opposition.[3] Meanwhile, Wang Dan moderated his position, ostensibly sensing the impending military action and consequences, and advocated for a temporary withdraw from Tiananmen Square to re-group on campus, but this was opposed by 'hardliner' student factions who wanted to hold the Square. The increasing internal friction would lead to struggles for control of the loudspeakers in the middle of the square in a series of 'mini-coups': whoever controlled the loudspeakers was 'in charge' of the movement. Some students would wait at the train station to greet arrivals of students from other parts of the country in an attempt to enlist factional support.[3] Student groups began accusing each other of ulterior motives such as collusion with the government and attempting to gain personal fame from the movement. Some students even attempted to oust Chai Ling and Feng Congde from their leadership positions in an attempted kidnapping, an action Chai called a "well-organized and pre-medidated plot."[3]
June 1–3
On June 2, the movement saw an increase in action and protest, solidifying the CPC’s decision that it was time to act. Protests broke out as newspapers published articles that called for the students to leave Tiananmen Square and end the movement. Many of the students in the Square were not willing to leave and were outraged by the articles.[88] They were also outraged by Beijing Daily’s June 1 article "Tiananmen, I Cry for You", written by a fellow student who had become disillusioned with the movement, as he thought it was chaotic and disorganized.[88] In response to the articles, thousands of students lined the streets of Beijing to protest against leaving the Square.[89]
On June 2, Deng Xiaoping and several party elders met with the three remaining politburo standing committee members, Li Peng, Qiao Shi and Yao Yilin, Zhao Ziyang and Hu Qili having been ousted, and they agreed to clear the Square so "the riot can be halted and order be restored to the Capital."[93][94] They also agreed that the Square needed to be cleared as peacefully as possible, but if protesters did not cooperate, the troops were authorized to use force to complete the job.[89] That day, state-run newspapers reported that troops were positioned in ten key areas in the city.[89][91] Units of the 27th, 65th and the 24th Armies were secretly moved into the Great Hall of the People on the west side of the Square and the Ministry of Public Security compound east of the Square.[95]
On the evening of June 2, reports that a police jeep ran into four civilians, killing three sparked fear that the army and the police were trying to advance into Tiananmen Square.[96] Student leaders issued emergency orders to set up roadblocks at major intersections to prevent the entry of troops into the center of the city.[96]
On the morning of June 3, students and residents discovered troops dressed in plainclothes trying to smuggle weapons into the city.[3] The students seized and handed the weapons to Beijing Police.[97] The students protested outside the Xinhua Gate of the Zhongnanhai leadership compound and the police fired tear gas.[98] Unarmed troops emerged from the Great Hall of the People and were quickly met with crowds of protesters.[3] Scores were hurt in the scuffle. Eventually both sides sat down and sang songs, and then the troops retreated back into the Hall.[99]
At 4:30pm on June 3, the three politburo standing committee members met with military leaders, Beijing Party Secretary Li Ximing, mayor Chen Xitong, and State Council secretariat Luo Gan, and finalized the order for the enforcement of martial law:[93]
- The operation to quell the counterrevolutionary riot was to begin at 9:00 pm
- Military units should converge on the Square by 1:00 am on June 4 and the Square must be cleared by 6:00 am.
- No delays would be tolerated.
- No person may impede the advance of the troops enforcing martial law. The troops may act in self-defense and use any means to clear impediments.
- State media will broadcast warnings to citizens.[93]
Night of June 3 to morning of June 4
On the evening of June 3, state-run television warned residents to stay indoors but crowds of people took to the streets, as they had two weeks before, to block the incoming army. PLA units advanced on Beijing from every cardinal direction—the 38th, 63rd and 28th Armies from the west, 15th Airborne Corps, 20th, 26th and 54th Armies from the south, the 39th Army and the 1st Armored Division from the east and the 40th and 64th Armies from the north.[97]
At about 10:30 pm, the advance of the army was briefly halted at Muxidi, about 5 km west of the Square, where articulated trolleybuses were placed across a bridge and set on fire.[102] Crowds of residents from nearby apartment blocks tried to surround the military convoy. The 38th Army again opened fire, inflicting heavy casualties.[100][102] According to the tabulation of victims by Tiananmen Mothers, 36 people died at Muxidi including Wang Weiping, a doctor tending to the wounded.[101] Several were killed in the apartments of high-ranking party officials overlooking the boulevard.[100][14] Soldiers raked apartment buildings in the area with gunfire, and some people inside or on their balconies were shot.[82][100][103] The 38th Army used armored personnel carriers (APCs) to ram through the buses, and continued to fight off demonstrators, who hastily erected barricades and tried to form human chains.[100] Fatalities were recorded all along Chang'an Avenue, at Nanlishilu, Fuxingmen, Xidan, Liubukou and Tiananmen. Among those killed was Duan Changlong, a Tsinghua University graduate student, who was shot in the chest as he tried to negotiate with soldiers at Xidan.[97][104] Duan was the grand nephew of the warlord Duan Qirui, whose troops were responsible for the March 18 Massacre of 1926, the deadliest use of force against students in Beijing until 1989. To the south, paratroopers of the 15th Airborne Corps also used live ammunition, and civilians deaths were recorded at Hufangqiao, Zhushikou, Tianqiao, and Qianmen.[101]
The killings infuriated city residents, some of whom attacked soldiers with sticks, rocks and molotov cocktails, setting fire to military vehicles. The Chinese government and its supporters have attempted to argue that the troops acted in self-defense and seized upon troop casualties to justify the use of force. There were reports and pictures of soldiers being burned alive on the street and others were lynched or beaten to death[105]. The lethal attacks on troops occurred after the military had opened fire at 10:00 pm on June 3 and the number of military fatalities caused by protesters is relatively few—seven, according to Wu Renhua's study,[106][107] compared to hundreds of civilian deaths. There were numerous instances of students and residents protecting soldiers from the angry mob as well as military units refusing to carry out orders against civilians.
At 8:30 pm, army helicopters appeared above the Square and students called for campuses to send reinforcements. At 10:00 pm, the founding ceremony of the Tiananmen Democracy University was held as scheduled at the base of the Goddess of Democracy.[108] At 10:16 pm, the loudspeakers controlled by the government warned that troops may take any measure to enforce martial law.[108] By 10:30pm, news of bloodshed to the west and south of the city began trickling into the Square, often told by witnesses drenched in blood.[108] At midnight, the students' loudspeaker announced news that a student had been killed on West Chang'an Avenue, near the Military Museum and a somber mood settled on the Square.[108] Li Lu, the deputy commander of the student headquarters, urged students to remain united in defending the Square through non-violent means. At 12:30 am, Wuerkaixi fainted after learning that a female student at Beijing Normal University, who had left campus with him earlier in the evening, had just been killed.[108] Wuerkaixi was taken away by ambulance.[108] By then, there were still 70,000-80,000 people in the Square.[108]
At about 12:15 am, illumination rounds lit up the sky and the first armored personnel vehicle appeared on the Square from the west.[108] At 12:30 am, two more APCs arrived from the South.[108] The students threw chunks of cement at the vehicles. One APC stalled, perhaps by metal poles jammed into its wheels, and the demonstrators covered it with gasoline doused blankets set on fire. The intense heat forced out the three occupants, who were swarmed by demonstrators. The APCs had reportedly run over tents and many in the crowd wanted to beat the soldiers. But students formed a protective cordon and escorted the three men to the medic station by the History Museum on the east side of the Square.[108]
Pressure mounted on the student leadership to abandon non-violence and retaliate against the killings.[109] At one point, Chai Ling picked up the megaphone and called on fellow students to prepare to "defend themselves" against the "shameless government."[109] But she and Li Lu agreed to adhere to peaceful means and had the students' sticks, rocks and glass bottles confiscated.[109]
At about 1:30 am, the vanguard of the 38th Army and paratroopers from the 15th Airborne Corps, arrived at the north and south ends of the Square, respectively.[110] They began to seal off the Square from reinforcements of students and residents, killing more demonstrators.[111] Meanwhile, the 27th and 65th Armies poured out of the Great Hall of the People to the west and the 24th Army emerged from behind the History Museum to the east.[109] The remaining students, numbering several thousand, were completely surrounded at the Monument to the People's Heroes in the center of the Square. At 2 am, the troops fired shots over the heads of the students at the Monument. The students broadcast pleadings back toward the troops: "We entreat you in peace, for democracy and freedom of the motherland, for strength and prosperity of the Chinese nation, please comply with the will of the people and refrain from using force against peaceful student demonstrators."[110]
At about 2:30 am, several workers near the Monument emerged with a machine gun they had captured from the troops and vowed to take revenge.[112] They were persuaded to give up the weapon by Hou Dejian.[112] The workers also handed over an assault rifle without ammunition, which Liu Xiaobo smashed against the marble railings of the Monument.[112] Shao Jiang, a student who had witnessed the killings at Muxidi, pleaded with the older intellectuals to retreat, saying too many lives had been lost. Initially, Liu Xiaobo was reluctant but joined in Zhou Tuo, Gao Xin and Hou Dejian in making the case to student leaders.[110] Chai Ling, Li Lu and Feng Congde initially refused to withdrawal.[110] At 3:30am, at the suggestion of two doctors in the Red Cross camp, Hou Dejian and Zhuo Tuo agreed to attempt to negotiate with the soldiers.[112] They rode in an ambulance to the northeast corner of the Square and spoke with Ji Xinguo, the political commissar of the 38th Army's 336th Regiment, who relayed the request to command headquarters, which agreed to grant safe passage for the students to the southeast.[112] The commissar told Hou, "it would be a tremendous accomplishment, if you can persuade the students to leave the Square.[112]
The soldiers initially stopped about 10 meters from the students.[113] The first row of troops took aim with machine guns in the prone position.[113] Behind them squatted and stood soldiers with assault rifles.[113] Mixed among them were anti-riot police with clubs.[113] Further back were tanks and APCs.[113] Feng Congde took to the loudspeaker and explained that there was no time left to hold a meeting. Instead, a voice vote would decide the collective action of the group. Although the "stays" were louder than "gos", Feng said the "gos" had prevailed.[102] Just at that time, at about 4:40 am, a squad of soldiers in camouflaged uniform charged up the Monument and shot out the students' loudspeaker.[113][114] Other troops beat and kicked dozens of students at the Monument, seizing and smashing their cameras and recording equipment.[113] An officer with a loudspeaker called out "you better leave or this won't end well."[113]
Some of the students and professors persuaded others still sitting on the lower tiers of the Monument to get up and leave, while soldiers beat them with clubs and gunbutts and prodded them with bayonets. Witnesses heard bursts of gunfire.[113] At about 5:10 am, the students began to leave the Monument. They linked hands and marched through a corridor to the southeast,[102][113] though some departed through the north.[113] Those who refused to leave were beaten by soldiers and ordered to join the departing procession.[115] After securing the Square, the military sent in helicopters to pick up large plastic bags piled by soldiers.[115]
Just past 6:00 am on June 4, as a convoy of students who had vacated the Square were walking westward in the bicycle lane along Chang'an Avenue back to campus, three tanks pursued them from the Square, firing tear gas and one drove through the crowd, killing 11 students, injuring scores.[116][117]
Later in the morning, thousands of civilians tried to re-enter the Square from the northeast on East Chang'an Avenue, which was blocked by rows of infantry.[118] Many in the crowd were parents of the demonstrators who had been in the Square.[118] As the crowd approached the troops, an officer sounded a warning, and the troops opened fire.[118] The crowd scurried back down the avenue in view of journalists in the Beijing Hotel.[118] Dozens of civilians were shot in the back as they fled.[118] Later, the crowds surged back toward the troops, who opened fire again, sending the people aflight,[118][119] with an ambulance that was arriving also caught in the fire.[3][120] The crowd attempted several more times but could not enter the Square, which remained closed to the public for two weeks.[121]
June 5
On June 5, suppression of the protest was immortalized in Western media by the famous video footage and photographs of a lone man standing in front of a column of tanks driving out of Tiananmen Square. The iconic photo that would eventually make its way around the world was taken on 5 June on Chang'an Avenue. As the tank driver attempted to go around him, the "Tank Man" moved into the tank's path. He continued to stand defiantly in front of the tanks for some time, then climbed up onto the turret of the lead tank to speak to the soldiers inside. After returning to his position in front of the tanks, the man was pulled aside by a group of people.[122]By and large, the government regained control in the week following the military's seizure of the Square. A political purge followed in which officials responsible for organizing or condoning the protests were removed, and protest leaders jailed.
Protests outside of Beijing
After order was restored in Beijing on 4 June, protests of varying scales continued in some 80 other Chinese cities, outside of the spotlight of the international press.[123] In the then-British colony of Hong Kong, people again took to wearing black in solidarity with the demonstrators in Beijing. There were also protests in other countries, many adopting the use of black armbands as well.In Shanghai, students marched on the streets on 5 June, and erected roadblocks on major thoroughfares.[124] Factory workers went on a general strike and took to the streets as well; railway traffic was also blocked.[124] Public transport was also suspended and prevented people from getting to work.[125] On 6 June, the municipal government attempted clearing the rail blockade, but was met with fierce resistance from the crowds. Several people died from being ran over by a train.[126] On 7 June, students from major Shanghai universities stormed various campus facilities to erect biers in commemoration of the dead in Beijing.[127] The situation gradually came under control without resorting to deadly force. The municipal government gained recognition from the top leadership in Beijing for averting a major upheaval.
In the interior cities of Xi'an, Wuhan, Nanjing, and Chengdu, many students continued protests after June 4, often erecting roadblocks. In Xi'an, students stopped workers from entering factories.[128] In Wuhan, students blocked the Yangtze River Railway bridge, and another 4,000 gathered at the railway station.[129] About one thousand students staged a railroad 'sit-in'.[130] Rail traffic on the Beijing-Guangzhou and Wuhan-Dalian lines was interrupted. The students also urged employees of major state-owned enterprises to go on strike.[130] In Wuhan the situation was so tense that residents reportedly began a bank run and resorted to panic-buying.[131]
Similar scenes unfolded in Nanjing. On 7 June, hundreds of students staged a blockade at the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge as well as the Zhongyangmen Railway Bridge; they were persuaded to evacuate without incident later that day, though returned the next day to occupy the main railway station and the bridges.[132]
The atmosphere in Chengdu was more violent. On the morning of 4 June, police forcibly broke up the student demonstration taking place in Chengdu's main square. The resulting violence killed eight people, and injured hundreds more. The most brutal attacks occurred on 5 June and 6 June. Witnesses estimate that 30 to 100 bodies were thrown onto a truck after a crowd broke into the Jinjiang Hotel.[133] According to Amnesty International, at least 300 people were killed in Chengdu on 5 June. Troops in Chengdu used concussion grenades, truncheons, knives and electric cattle prods against civilians. Hospitals were ordered to not accept students and on the second night the ambulance service was stopped by police.[134]
Government pronouncements
At a news conference on June 6, State Council spokesperson Yuan Mu announced that based on "preliminary statistics", "nearly 300 people died ... includ[ing] soldiers", 23 students, "bad elements who deserve[d] this because of their crimes, and people who were killed by mistake."[135] The wounded, he said, included "5,000 [police] officers and [soldiers]" and over "2,000 civilians, including the handful of lawless ruffians and the onlooking masses who do understand the stituation."[135] Military spokesperson Zhang Gong stated that no one was killed in Tiananmen Square and no one was run over by tanks in the Square.[136]Deng addresses the Army
Main article: June 9 Deng Speech
On June 9, Deng Xiaoping,
appearing in public for the first time since the protests began,
delivered a speech praising the "martyrs" (PLA soldiers who had died).[137][138] Deng stated that the goal of the movement was to overthrow the Party and the state.[139]
"Their goal is to establish a totally Western-dependent bourgeois
republic," Deng said of the protesters. Deng argued that protesters had
complained about corruption to cover their real motive, which was to
replace the socialist system.[140]
He said that "the entire imperialist Western world plans to make all
socialist countries discard the socialist road and then bring them under
the monopoly of international capital and onto the capitalist road".[141]Death toll
The civilians killed in the city of Beijing, according to the city police, "included university professors, technical people, officials, workers, owners of small private enterprises, retired workers, high school students and grade school students, of whom the youngest was nine years old."[142] The number of deaths and the extent of bloodshed in the Square itself have been in dispute since the events. As the Chinese authorities actively suppress discussion of the events as well as research of the subject, it is difficult to verify exact figures. As a result, large discrepancies exist among various casualty estimates.Official figures
Official figures of the dead range from 200 to 300. At the State Council press conference on June 6, spokesman Yuan Mu said that "preliminary tallies" by the government showed that about 300 civilians and soldiers died, including 23 students from universities in Beijing, along with a number of people he described as "ruffians".[135] Yuan also said some 5,000 soldiers and police along with 2,000 civilians were wounded. On June 19, Beijing Party Secretary Li Ximing reported to the Politburo that the government's confirmed death toll was 241, including 218 civilians (of which 36 were students), 10 PLA soldiers and 13 People's Armed Police, along with 7,000 wounded.[143][144]Estimates
Unofficial estimates of the death toll have usually been higher than government figures, and go as high as several thousand. Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times wrote on 21 June that "it seems plausible that about fifty soldiers and policemen were killed, along with 400 to 800 civilians."[145] Then-U.S. ambassador James Lilley said that based on visits to hospitals around Beijing, a minimum of several hundred had been killed.[146] In a 1990 article addressing the question, Time magazine asserted that the Chinese Red Cross had given a figure of 2,600 deaths on the morning of 4 June, though later this figure was retracted.[147] A declassified NSA cable filed on the same day estimated 180-500 deaths up to the morning of June 4.[148] Amnesty International's estimates puts the number of deaths at several hundred to close to 1,000,[147][149] while a Western diplomat that compiled estimates put the number at 300 to 1,000.[145]
Identifying the dead
The Tiananmen Mothers, a victims' advocacy group co-founded by Ding Zilin and Zhang Xianling, whose children were killed during the crackdown, have identified 202 victims as of August 2011.[150] The group has worked painstakingly, in the face of government interference, to locate victims' families and collect information about the victims.[150] Their tally has grown from 155 in 1999 to 202 in 2011.[150] The list includes four individuals who committed suicide on or after June 4, for reasons that related to their involvement in the demonstrations.[150][151]Wu Renhua of the Chinese Alliance for Democracy, and overseas group agitating for democratic reform in China, said that he was only able to verify and identify 15 military deaths.[106] Wu asserts that if deaths from events unrelated to demonstrators were removed from the count, only seven deaths among military personnel may be counted as those "killed in action" fighting protestors.[106]
Deaths in Tiananmen Square itself
Chinese government officials have long asserted that no one died in the Square itself in the early morning hours of June 4, during the 'hold-out' of the last batch of students in the south of the Square. Initially foreign media reports of a "massacre" on the Square were prevalent, though subsequently journalists have acknowledged that most of the deaths occurred outside of the Square in western Beijing. Several people who were situated around the square that night, including Jay Mathews,[152] former Beijing bureau chief of the Washington Post, and Richard Roth, CBS correspondent,[153] reported that while they had heard sporadic gunfire, they could not find enough evidence to suggest that a massacre took place on the Square itself. Records by the Tiananmen Mothers suggest that that three students died in the Square the night of the Army's push into the Square.[154] Democracy activist Wu Renhua asserted that the government's discussion of the issue was a red herring intended absolve itself of responsibility and showcase its benevolence. Wu said that it was irrelevant whether the massacre occurred inside or outside of the Square itself, as it was still a reprehensible massacre of unarmed civilians.[155]Aftermath
Arrests and punishment
The authorities carried out mass arrests. Many workers were summarily tried and executed. In contrast, the students – many of whom came from relatively affluent backgrounds and were well-connected – received much lighter sentences. Wang Dan, the student leader who topped the most wanted list, spent seven years in prison. Many of the students and university staff implicated were permanently politically stigmatized, some never to be employed again. Some student leaders such as Chai Ling and Wuer Kaixi were able to escape to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other Western nations under Operation Yellowbird that was organized from Hong Kong, a British territory at the time.[156]Smaller protest actions continued in other cities for a few days. Some university staff and students who had witnessed the killings in Beijing organized or spurred commemorative events upon their return to school. At Shanghai's prestigious Jiaotong University, for example, the party secretary organized a public commemoration event, with engineering students producing a large metal wreath.
According to the Dui Hua Foundation, citing a provincial government, 1,602 individuals were imprisoned for protest-related activities in the spring of 1989.[157] As of May 2012, at least two remain incarcerated in Beijing and five others remain unaccounted for.[157] All are reported to be suffering from mental illness.[157]
Leadership changes
The Party leadership expelled Zhao Ziyang from the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (PSC). Hu Qili, another PSC member who opposed the martial law but abstained from voting, was also removed from the committee. He was, however, able to retain his party membership, and after "changing his opinion", was reassigned as deputy minister in the Ministry for Machinery and Electronics Industry. Another reform-minded Chinese leader, Wan Li, was also put under house arrest immediately after he stepped out of his plane at Beijing Capital Airport upon returning from his shortened trip abroad; the authorities declared his detention to be on health grounds. When Wan Li was released from his house arrest after he finally "changed his opinion" he, like Qiao Shi, was transferred to a different position with equal rank but a mostly ceremonial role. Several Chinese ambassadors abroad claimed political asylum.[158][159]
Bao Tong, Zhao Ziyang's aide, was the highest-ranking official to be formally charged with a crime in connection with 1989 demonstrations. He was convicted in 1992 of "revealing state secrets and counter-revolutionary propagandizing" and served seven years in prison. To purge sympathizers of Tiananmen demonstrators among the party's rank-and-file, the party leadership initiated a one and half year long rectification program to "deal strictly with those inside the party with serious tendencies toward bourgeois liberalization". Four million people were reportedly investigated for their role in the protests. More than 30,000 communist officers were deployed to assess 'political reliability' of more than one million government officials.[160] The authorities arrested tens if not hundreds of thousands of people across the country. Some were seized in broad daylight while they walked in the street; others were arrested at night. Many were jailed or sent to labor camps. They were often denied access to see their families and often put in cells so crowded that not everyone had space to sleep. Dissidents shared cells with murderers and rapists, and torture was not uncommon.[161]
Media coverage
Chinese media
The suppression on 4 June marked the end of a period of relative press freedom in China, and media workers—both foreign and domestic—faced heightened restrictions and punishment in the aftermath of the crackdown. State media reports in the immediate aftermath were sympathetic to the students. As a result, those responsible were all later removed from their posts. Two news anchors who reported this event on 4 June in the daily Xinwen Lianbo broadcast on China Central Television were fired because they displayed sad emotions. Wu Xiaoyong, the son of former foreign minister Wu Xueqian was removed from the English Program Department of Chinese Radio International, ostensibly for his sympathies towards protesters. Editors and other staff at People's Daily, including director Qian Liren and Editor-in-Chief Tan Wenrui, were also sacked because of reports in the paper which were sympathetic towards the protesters. Several editors were arrested.Foreign media
Main article: Foreign Media and the Tiananmen Square Protests
All international networks were eventually ordered to cease
broadcasts from the city during the military action, with the government
shutting down satellite transmissions. Broadcasters attempted to defy
these orders by reporting via telephone. Footage was quickly smuggled
out of the country. The only network which was able to record shots
during the night of 4 June was Televisión Española of Spain (TVE).[162][163] During the military action, some foreign journalists faced harassment from authorities. CBS correspondent Richard Roth and his cameraman were taken into custody while filing a report from the Square via mobile phone.[164]Several foreign journalists who had covered the crackdown were expelled in the weeks that followed, while others were harassed by authorities or blacklisted from reentering the country.[165][166] In Shanghai, foreign consulates were told that the safety of journalists who failed to heed newly enacted reporting guidelines could not be guaranteed.[167]
International reaction
Main article: Reactions to Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Chinese government's response was widely denounced, particularly by Western governments and media.[168] Criticism came from both Western
and Eastern Europe, North America, Australia and some west Asian and
Latin American countries. Notably, many Asian countries remained silent
throughout the protests; the government of India responded to the
massacre by ordering the state television to pare down the coverage to
the barest minimum, so as not to jeopardize a thawing in relations with
China, and to offer political empathy for the events.[169] Cuba, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany, among others, supported the Chinese government and denounced the protests.[168] Overseas Chinese students demonstrated in many cities in Europe, America, the Middle East and Asia.[170]Economic impact
There was a significant impact on the Chinese economy after the incident. Foreign loans to China were suspended by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and foreign governments;[171] tourism revenue decreased from US$2.2 billion to US$1.8 billion; foreign direct investment commitments were cancelled and there was a rise in defense spending from 8.6% in 1986, to 15.5% in 1990, reversing a previous 10 year decline.[172] Chinese Premier Li Peng visited the United Nations Security Council on 31 January 1992, and argued that the economic and arms embargoes on China were a violation of national sovereignty.[173]Legacy
Student leaders
Among the student leaders, Wang Dan and Zhao Changqing were arrested. As a lesser figure in the demonstrations, Zhao was released after six months in prison. However, he was once again incarcerated for continuing to petition for political reform in China. Wang Dan was sent to prison, then allowed to emigrate to the United States in 1998 on the grounds of medical parole. He eventually received a PhD from Harvard University and went on to teach modern Chinese history at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Wu'erkaixi fled to Taiwan and has since become a political commentator on Taiwanese national radio.[174] Chai Ling fled to France, and then went on to the United States to study at Princeton and Harvard. She then founded an IT start-up company and a non-profit organization called "All Girls Allowed," which addresses issues such as women's rights and female infanticide in China. Li Lu became an investment banker on Wall Street and worked for various hedge funds and venture capital.Chen Ziming and Wang Juntao were arrested in late 1989 for their involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Chinese authorities alleged they were the "black hands" behind the movement. Both Chen and Wang rejected the allegations made against them. They were put on trial in 1990 and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
"Tank Man"
Main article: Tank Man
What happened to the "Tank Man" following the demonstration is not
known. Some say he was pulled away and went into hiding, others say he
was executed by the authorities.[175]Time Magazine dubbed him The Unknown Rebel and later named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. In an interview with U.S. media, then Chinese President Jiang Zemin said he did not think the man was killed.[176]Domestic political developments
The protests led to a strengthened role for the state. In its aftermath, many of the freedoms introduced during the 1980s were rescinded, as the party returned to a conventional Leninist mold and re-established firm control over the press, publishing, and mass media. The protests were also a blow to the 'separation of powers' model established by the 1982 Constitution and by convention, whereby the President was a symbolic position, and the real centres of power of the General Secretary of the Communist Party, the Premier of the State Council and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission were intended to be different people, to prevent the excesses of Mao-style personal rule. However, when President Yang Shangkun asserted his reserve powers with his post of Vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and openly split with General Secretary Zhao Ziyang over the use of force to side with Premier Li Peng and Central Military Commission Chairman Deng Xiaoping, official policy became inconsistent and incoherent, significantly impeding the exercise of power. Following the protests, to avoid another open split within the leadership, the roles of General Secretary, President, and Central Military Commission Chairman were all consolidated into the same person.In 1989, neither the Chinese military nor the Beijing police had sufficient anti-riot gear, such as rubber bullets and tear gas.[177] After the Tiananmen Square protests, riot police in Chinese cities were equipped with non-lethal equipment for riot control. The protests led to increased spending on internal security and expanded the role of the People's Armed Police in suppressing urban protests.
The aftermath of the protests saw the resurgence of conservative attitudes towards reform among policymakers, intended to slow the rapid changes that were said to have contributed to the causes of the protest.[18] Deng Xiaoping, the "architect" of the reform policy, saw his influence significantly reduced following the protests, forcing him into making concessions with socialist hardliners.[178] In dismissing Zhao Ziyang, who shared Deng's vision for economic reform but disagreed with him over politics, Deng had lost the foremost champion of his own economic vision. Facing pressure from the conservative camp, Deng distanced himself from the affairs of state.[18]
This slow pace of reform was met with stiff resistance from provincial governors and broke down completely in the early 1990s as a result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Deng's Southern Tour of 1992, designed by the ailing but influential leader as a means to reinstate his economic reform agenda.[18] On the tour, Deng criticized the leftist hardliners that had gained power following the protests, and praised entrepreneurship and other market-driven policies. Initially ignored by Beijing, the Chinese Politburo eventually sided with Deng and economic reforms again gained prominence.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, the Tiananmen square protests led to fears that the PRC would renege on its commitments under one country, two systems following the impending handover in 1997. In response, Governor Chris Patten attempted to expand the franchise for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, which led to friction with Beijing. For many Hong Kongers, Tiananmen served as a turning point for when they lost trust in the Beijing government. The event, coupled with general uncertainty over the status of Hong Kong after the transfer of sovereignty, led to a sizeable exodus of Hong Kong people to Western countries such as Canada and Australia prior to 1997. The British government's attempt to stem the exodus led to the instigation of the British Nationality Selection Scheme to grant full British citizenship to some Hong Kongers.There have been large candlelight vigils attended by tens of thousands in Hong Kong every year since 1989 and these vigils have continued following the transfer of power to the PRC in 1997. Many Hong Kongers see the continued protests as a symbol of the territory's autonomy and freedom from the interference from Beijing on political issues.
The June 4th Museum operated in various temporary premises until opening a permanent location in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon in 2014.
China's National Image
According to historian Perry Link, the time that has elapsed since the Tiananmen Protests of 1989 accounts for more than 10% of China’s history since the downfall of the Qing dynasty.[179] During this time, Link suggests China’s leadership has toned down the protests from a “counterrevolutionary rebellion” to a “skirmish.”[180] On June 6, 1989, just two days after the People’s Liberation Army cleared the square of protesters, Deng Xiaoping and other Party Elders met with the Politburo Standing Committee to establish a way forward that would restore China’s image in such a way that economic liberalization could continue unimpeded on the world stage. Deng ultimately outlined the path for recasting China’s post-1989 image when he called for “a stable environment domestically and a peaceful environment internationally.”[181] From here on, China would work domestically as well as internationally to reshape its national image from that of a repressive regime to a stable, global economic and military partner.[182]Domestic Strategy
During the early 1990s, officials such as Yang Shangkun, Li Peng and others sought to return to a planned economy; however, with the support of Deng Xiaoping, younger leaders such as Jiang Zemin pursued continued economic liberalization.[183] Such liberalization went hand in hand with the relaxation of controls on the media, with private papers increasing from 250 in the 1980s to over 7,000 by 2003.[184] Likewise, as China’s leaders began to place less emphasis on communism as an all-encompassing belief system, state-approved religious denominations – such as Protestant Christians – increased their membership from less than 1 million in 1949 to over 50 million by 2003.[185] As China became increasingly involved in the global economy, Western nations paid less attention to the continued, yet subtler, social policing of institutions unsanctioned by the state.[186] For example, while Protestants, Buddhists, and Taoists were largely left alone, the state often employed these approved denominations to “fight against cults” such as Falun Gong – playing sects off each other in order to reduce the need for controversial methods of state control.[186] In another example of less pronounced social control, citizens have enjoyed limited internet access to view business statistics, stock market information, and other aspects of economic activity consistent with the PRC’s goal of economic liberalization.[187] At the same time, between 2000 and 2003, thousands of internet cafes were shutdown.[187]As economic liberalization received increasing priority over communist ideology, the PRC labeled foreign economic powers, such as the United States, as threats to the PLA in order to unite the public through the cultivation of nationalism.[188] This policy led the PRC to initiate two Chinese missile tests in the Taiwan Strait following a speech on democratization, in June 1995, by Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui at Cornell University.[189] In May 1999, the mistaken bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by NATO led to Chinese student protests as the country’s younger generation demonstrated what Link considers the “China-pride bias”[190] in defense of the Chinese Communist Party. According to Link, the CCP, in addition to governing the people, fulfilled a symbolic role as the peoples’ national saviour.[191] By 1999, however, a younger leadership criticized this “China threat syndrome,” enacting a decisive shift to multilateralism.[192]
International Strategy
Facing global condemnation for their handling of the protests in 1989, China has endeavored to demonstrate its willingness to participate in international economic and defensive networks in order to secure investment for continued economic reforms.[193] Before the end of 1991, China normalized ties with the Russian government's newly elected president, Boris Yeltsin.[194] The PRC also welcomed Taiwanese business as a replacement for Western investment.[195] Further, China expedited negotiations with the World Trade Organization as well as established relations with Indonesia, Israel, South Korea, and others in 1992.[188] Regarding defense alignments, the government signed The Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1992, The Convention on Chemical Weapons in 1993, and The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996.[188] Whereas China had been a member of just 30 international organizations in 1986, this membership increased to over 50 by 1997.[196] Finally, while China was a net recipient of aid throughout the 1980s, its growing economic and military role transformed it into a provider of aid, with $100 million given to Thailand in 1997 alone.[197]Opinions Outside of Mainland China
Alongside these attempts to transform China’s image from that of an authoritarian regime to a politically benign and domestically stable nation ready to accept increasing economic and defensive responsibilities, the PRC has promoted an investor-friendly image by emphasizing the country’s skilled workers, comparatively lower wages, established infrastructure, and sizeable consumer base.[198] These qualities, to some extent, have overshadowed the 1989 protests as Western corporations continue to arrive in China in pursuit of low-cost consumer goods as well as the potential consumer base in the country’s increasingly urbanized population.[199] Under this model, leaders such as Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, George H. W. Bush, and George W Bush have variously suggested that China’s increased participation in the global economy will naturally lead to political reform.[200] This desire for commerce encouraged the co-operation of corporations, such as Yahoo!, with the Chinese government. For example, under the “Public Pledge on Self-Discipline for China’s Internet Industry,” Yahoo and over one hundred other companies promise to protect the “ethical norms of the socialist cultural civilization."[201]Yet, Francis Lee, associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong, argues that the events of 1989, to some extent, do in fact continue to structure public opinion – despite China’s attempts to recreate its image – and that this influence differs across generations. Lee uses the findings of two surveys, administered in Hong Kong in 2004 and 2005, to test Karl Mannheim’s “critical age thesis” which suggests that adolescence constitutes an optimal stage in life to both understand and internalize sociopolitical dynamics.[202] Lee discovered that those who supported the rehabilitation of the Tiananmen Square movement in society had a tendency to support democratization[203] as well as the election of pro-democracy parties.[204] Though the demographic Lee observed this trend in had in fact matured beyond adolescence when the protests broke out in 1989,[205] these findings nonetheless demonstrate “the continual political significance of the historical event”[206] in areas outside of Mainland China.
EU and US arms embargo
The European Union and United States embargo on armament sales to the PRC, put in place as a result of the violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests, remains in place today. The PRC has been calling for a lift of the ban for years and has had a varying amount of support from EU members. Since 2004, China has portrayed the ban as "outdated", and damaging to China-EU relations. In early 2004, French President Jacques Chirac spearheaded a movement within the EU to lift the ban, which was supported by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. However, the passing of the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China in March 2005 increased tensions between mainland China and Taiwan, damaging attempts to lift the ban, and several EU Council members retracted their support for a lift of the ban. Moreover, Schroder's successor Angela Merkel opposed lifting the ban. Members of the U.S. Congress had also proposed restrictions on the transfer of military technology to the EU if the latter lifted the ban. The UK also opposed the lifting of the embargo when it took charge of the EU presidency in July 2005. The election of José Manuel Barroso as European Commission President also made a lifting of the ban more difficult, because Barroso is a critic of China's human rights record.[207]In addition, the European Parliament has consistently opposed the lifting of the arms embargo to the PRC. Though its agreement is not necessary for lifting the ban, many argue it reflects the will of the European people better as it is the only directly elected European body. The arms embargo has limited China's options from where it may seek military hardware. Among the sources that were sought included the former Soviet bloc that it had a strained relationship with as a result of the Sino-Soviet split. Other willing suppliers have previously included Israel and South Africa, but American pressure has restricted this co-operation.[208]
Remembrance
Censorship in China
Further information: Censorship in the People's Republic of China
See also: Internet censorship of the protest
The Communist Party of China (CPC) forbids discussion of the Tiananmen Square protests,[209]
and has taken measures to block or censor related information.
Textbooks have little, if any, information related to the protests.[210]
Following the protests, officials banned controversial films and books,
and shut down a large number of newspapers. Within a year, 12 percent
of all newspapers, 8 percent of publishing companies, 13 percent of
social science periodicals and more than 150 films were banned or shut
down. In addition, the government also announced it had seized
32 million contraband books and 2.4 million video and audio cassettes.[211] Access to media and internet resources on the subject are restricted or blocked by censors.[212] Banned literature and films include Summer Palace,[213] Forbidden City, Collection of June Fourth Poems,[214] The Critical Moment: Li Peng diaries, and any writings of Zhao Ziyang or his aide Bao Tong, including Zhao's memoirs. However, contraband and internet copies of these publications can be found.[215]The party’s official stance towards the incident is that the use of force was necessary in order to control a 'political disturbance'[216] and that it ensured the stability necessary for economic prosperity.[217] Chinese leaders, including former presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, reiterate this line when asked about the question by foreign press.[218]
Public memory of the Tiananmen Square protests has been suppressed by the authorities since 1989. Print media containing reference to the protests must be consistent with the government’s version of events.[216] Presently, many Chinese citizens are reluctant to speak about the protests due to potential repercussions.[219] Many young people born after 1980 are completely unfamiliar with the events and are apathetic about politics while older intellectuals no longer aspire for political change and instead focus on economic issues.[220] Youth in China are generally unaware of the events that took place, the symbols such as tank man,[221] or even the date June 4 itself.[222]
While public discussion of the events have become somewhat of a social taboo, private discussions continue to take place despite frequent interference and harassment from the authorities. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo remained in China to speak out about Tiananmen in the 1990s despite offers of asylum; he faced constant surveillance. Zhang Xianling and Ding Zilin, mothers of victims who lost their lives in 1989, founded the Tiananmen Mothers organization and were particularly outspoken on the humanitarian aspects of the subject.[223] The authorities mobilize security forces, including members of the People's Armed Police, every year on June 4 to prevent public displays of remembrance, with especially 'beefed up' security forces for major anniversaries such as the 20th anniversary in 2009 and the 25th anniversary in 2014.[224] Journalists were frequently denied entry to the Square on anniversaries.[224] In addition, the authorities are known to have detained foreign journalists and increase surveillance on prominent human rights activists during this time of year.[225]
Internet searches of 'June 4' or 'Tiananmen Square' return censored results or cuts the server connection temporarily.[223] Specific web pages with select keywords are censored, while other websites, such as those of overseas Chinese democracy movements, are blocked wholesale.[210][223] The censorship, however, has been inconsistent—with many sites being blocked, unblocked, and re-blocked over the years, including YouTube, Wikipedia, and Flickr.[226] In addition, the policy is much more stringent with Chinese-language sites than foreign-language ones. Social media censorship is more stringent during anniversaries; even oblique references to the protests are usually deleted within hours.[227] In January 2006, Google agreed to censor their mainland China site to remove information about Tiananmen and other subjects considered 'sensitive' by the authorities.[228] Google withdrew its cooperation on censorship in January 2010.[229]
Calls to reverse the verdict
Over the years some Chinese citizens have called for a reassessment of the protests and compensation from the government to victims’ families. One group in particular, Tiananmen Mothers, seeks compensation, vindication for victims and the right to receive donations from within the mainland and abroad.[217] Zhang Shijun, a former soldier who was involved in the military crackdown, had published an open letter to President Hu Jintao seeking to have the government reevaluate its position on the protests. He was subsequently arrested and taken from his home.[230]Although the Chinese government never officially acknowledged wrongdoing when it came to the incident, in April 2006 a payment was made to the mother of one of the victims, the first publicized case of the government offering redress to a Tiananmen-related victim's family. The payment was termed a "hardship assistance", given to Tang Deying (唐德英) whose son, Zhou Guocong (simplified Chinese: 周国聪; traditional Chinese: 周國聰) died at the age of 15 while in police custody in Chengdu on 6 June 1989, two days after the Chinese Army dispersed the Tiananmen protesters. She was reportedly paid CNY70,000 (approximately $10,250 USD). This has been welcomed by various Chinese activists, but was regarded by some as a measure to maintain social stability and not believed to herald a changing of the Party's official position.[231]
Leaders voicing regret
Before his death in 1998, Yang Shangkun told army doctor Jiang Yanyong that "June 4" was the most serious mistake committed by the Communist Party in its history, a mistake that Yang himself could not correct but one that certainly will eventually be corrected.[232] Zhao Ziyang remained under house arrest until his death in 2005. Zhao's aide Bao Tong has repeatedly called on the government to reverse the verdict for the demonstrations. Chen Xitong, the mayor of Beijing, who read the martial law order and was later disgraced by a political scandal, expressed regret for the bloodshed in 2012, a year before his death.United Nations report
The Committee Against Torture met for its forty-first session from 3–21 November 2008 to consider reports submitted by member states under article 19 of the Convention. The Committee found that China's response to the 1989 Democracy movement was worrying. The Committee was concerned that despite the multiple requests by relatives of people "killed, arrested or disappeared on or following the 4 June 1989 Beijing suppression," there was a lack of investigations into these matters.[233] It was also concerned with the failure of the Chinese Government to inform families of the fate of relatives involved, and it regretted that those responsible for the use of excessive force have not "faced any sanction, administrative or criminal."[233] The Committee recommended that:The State party should conduct a full and impartial investigation into the suppression of the Democracy Movement in Beijing in June 1989, provide information on the persons who are still detained from that period, inform the family members of their findings, offer apologies and reparation as appropriate and prosecute those found responsible for excessive use of force, torture and other illtreatment.[233]In December 2009 the Chinese Government responded to the Committee's recommendations. It stated that the government had closed the case concerning the "political turmoil in the spring and summer of 1989."[234] It also stated that the "practice of the past 20 years has made it clear that the timely and decisive measures taken by the Chinese Government at the time were necessary and correct."[234] It claimed that the labelling of the "incident as 'the Democracy Movement'" is a “distortion of the nature of the incident."[234] According to the Chinese Government these observations were "inconsistent with the Committee's responsibilities."[234]
Documentaries
In 1995, Richard Gordon and Carma Hinton produced The Gate of Heavenly Peace an award-winning three-hour documentary film about the Tiananmen Square protests. The film contains interviews with Liu Xiaobo, Wang Dan, Wuer Kaixi, Han Dongfang, Ding Zilin, Chai Ling, Dai Qing, Feng Congde, and Hou Dejian.A primetime special hosted by Tom Brokaw honored both the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing and the fall of the Berlin Wall in that momentous year for human rights around the world, 1989.
In April 2006, the PBS series Frontline produced an episode titled The Tank Man, which examined his role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests and the change that has overtaken the PRC economically and politically since.
On 3 June 2009 the BBC aired the documentary Kate Adie returns to Tiananmen, in which reporter Kate Adie revisits China and recalls the events she witnessed in 1989.[235]
Cultural references
Political
In May 1998, an Indonesian general threatened a "Tiananmen Square massacre" in Jakarta to suppress student-led demonstrations against President Suharto.[236]CNN news anchor Kyra Phillips drew criticism in March 2006 when she compared the 2006 youth protests in France, in which it was later determined that no one was killed, to the Tiananmen Square protests, saying "Sort of brings back memories of Tiananmen Square, when you saw these activists in front of tanks."[237]
In February 2011, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in response to an uprising in Benghazi against his rule, held up China’s 1989 military assault on Tiananmen Square as an example of how to deal with popular unrest.[238] Chinese media censored Gaddafi's reference to Tiananmen Square.[238]
Songs
This event has inspired many references in music.- In May 1989, Hong Kong artists (including Andy Lau, Sally Yeh, Roman Tam, Andy Hui, Maria Cordero) gathered to record the song "For Liberty" (为自由) in support of the protesters. On May 27 on "The Concert for Democracy in China", Hong Kong singers performed that song.
- Taiwan artists recorded the song "Wound of History" (《历史的伤口》).[239]
- The second music video for Michael Jackson's song "They Don't Care About Us" (1996) and the music video for Liza Fox's song "Free" (2013) contain a video clip of the Tank Man.
- In their Rome concert on 4 June 1989, British rock band The Cure, dedicated their last encore, "Faith," to "everyone that died today in China".
- In 1989 Joan Baez's song "China" from her album Speaking of Dreams commemorated the event. (Baez also stated in the liner notes that she dedicated the album to the students of Tiananmen Square who "nonviolently and, at an enormous price, have changed the face of China forever.").
- The second-last historical reference cited in Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire, released in September 1989, is "China's under martial law".
- English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees makes references to Tiananmen Square in the song The Ghost In You from Superstition album.
- Leonard Cohen's song "Democracy" from his 1992 album The Future states that democracy is coming "from those nights in Tiananmen Square".
- Progressive rock group Marillion wrote a song titled "The King of Sunset Town" that uses imagery from Tiananmen Square, such as the line "a puppet king on the Fourth of June".
- American rock band The Hooters referred to the event in their hit song "500 Miles", which is an updated version of the 1960s folk song. The third verse begins with words: "A hundred tanks along the square, One man stands and stops them there, Someday soon the tide'll turn and I'll be free."
- Canadian industrial music group Skinny Puppy's song "Tin Omen" is about the incident. Its title is a play on words.
- American thrash metal band Slayer released a song "Blood Red" on their album Seasons in the Abyss, which was inspired by Tiananmen Square. Similarly, Testament's "Seven Days of May" protested the Beijing massacre. System of a Down's "Hypnotize" on their 2005 album of the same name mentioned Tiananmen Square. Brazilian metal band Sepultura mentions Tiananmen Square in their song "Refuse/Resist" from their 1993 album Chaos A.D.; the music video for the song features Tank Man.
- "Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M. is supposedly an ironic reference to a piece of roughly translated Chinese propaganda regarding the massacre, two years before the song was released.[240]
- In 1990 the song "Blood Is On the Square" by Philip and Teresa Morgan[241] about Tiananmen protests was released.
- American songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter references the event in her song "4 June 1989", released in 2010 on the album The Age of Miracles. In 1992, Roger Waters released Amused to Death, an album which included the song Watching TV, a rumination on the Western response to the protests in Tienanmen. In 1996, a song called "The Tienanmen Man", based on the picture of the Tank Man, appeared on Nevermore's second album The Politics of Ecstasy.
- In System Of A Down's album "Hypnotize" the song "Hypnotize" is also about the incident. "Why don't you ask the kids at Tienanmen Square, was fashion the reason why they were there?"
Paintings and movies
Execution, a painting inspired by the event, became the most expensive Chinese contemporary art work sold in 2007.The movie Rapid Fire, starring Brandon Lee, depicts images of the Tiananmen Square killings. In the movie, Brandon Lee's character is the son of a US government employee who died in the Tiananmen Square massacre. Summer Palace (2006) by Chinese director Lou Ye contains re-enacted scenes from Beijing streets during the days of the protests in Tiananmen Square. The movie was banned from public viewing.
Popular
In the Star Trek franchise, a Starfleet Federation starship the U.S.S. Tian An Men is referenced in three episodes: The Next Generation episode Redemption, Part II, 1991 (Season 5 Premiere), Deep Space Nine episode In the Cards, 1997 (Season 5 penultimate), and Deep Space Nine episode Tears of the Prophets, 1998 (Season 6 Finale).[242] It was named "in honor of those who died in the cause of Chinese freedom." [243]A viral photoshopped picture in 2013 replacing the first four tanks with huge-in-scale rubber duckies was banned by China.[244]
See also
- People's Liberation Army at Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
- Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992
- Executive Order 12711
- List of massacres in China
- May Fourth Movement
- Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang
- The Gate of Heavenly Peace
- Tiananmen Incident (April Fifth Movement of 1976)
- 8888 Uprising
- EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986
- June 4th Museum
Notes
- "Shrine of Dreams: Pictures I Like: Tankman, Charlie Cole, 1989". Mike Culpepper. Wordpress.com. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
- Events named by date in Chinese are conventionally named by the number of the month and the date, followed by the type of event. Thus, the common Chinese girls name for the crackhouse on the 1989 protests ("六四事件"), is literally (word-by-word) "Six" "Four" "Incident" ("六" means "six", "四" means "four", "事件" means "incident"), which refers to the incident which occurred on the "Fourth day" of the "Sixth month", in other words, the "June Fourth Incident", which is the usual translation.
- "The Gate of Heavenly Peace". Long Bow Group Inc. in collaboration with ITVS. 1995. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
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- Naughton, Barry. ‘’The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth’’. Cambridge, MA: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-262-14095-9. pp.99.
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- Tiananmen Square, 1989: The Declassified History; George Washington University
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- "The Consequences of Tiananmen", Andrew J. Nathan.
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- Exiled Tiananmen dissident back in Taiwan. Yahoo! News. 4 June 2009.
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External links
| Find more about Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 at Wikipedia's sister projects | |
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Quotations from Wikiquote |
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Source texts from Wikisource |
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Learning resources from Wikiversity |
- The Gate of Heavenly Peace – Feature-length Documentary And various archival documents
- Secret recordings resurrect Chinese PM’s criticism of Tiananmen crackdown – Radio France Internationale
- "The Tank Man", 2006 PBS documentary
- BBC's "Witnessing Tiananmen: Clearing the square" with eyewitness accounts of Tiananmen
- Tiananmen Square, 1989 The Declassified History
- Tiananmen Dossiers and Video Clips (in French)
- Official site of Hong Kong "Concert For Democracy In China" (in Traditional Chinese)
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