Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 Diego Flores Cassandra Demata

Tiananmen Square large city square in the center of Beijing, China Named Tiananmen Square roughly translated to Gate of Heavenly Peace Contained monuments to heroes of the revolution and National Museum of China Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic in the square on Oct. 1, 1949, an anniversary still observed there Outside China, the square is best known in recent memory as the focal point of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

Tiananmen Square

Causes of Student Protests

Causes of Student Protests Cult of personality and economic/political reforms of Mao Zedong and Lin Biao (1969-1976) Death of Hu Yaobang (April 15, 1989) a liberal reformer who was deposed after losing a power struggle with hardliners over the direction of political and economic reforms. People protest and mourn the loss of Hu in the square Protests begin Editorial on Communist newspaper People’s Daily (April 26, 1989) Sought to end protests against government Protests detrimental to state Backfires, only strengthens the opposition towards the government Basic student needs Inadequate education Courses Free speech Inadequate food Bad water quality Need for economic and political reform Capitalism Democracy

Protests

Protest Following death of Yaobang students came to protest along with workers alike Led to number of rallies Goal:social change Defied ban on public gathering, demonstrations began in May 1989 in front of Communist HQ Sympathisers tried to stop rallies Students personified social change and intensified with new methods of protest Hunger Strike People fainted and were taken to hospital or some medical tents in the square “Goddess of Democracy” Made by art students and made of plaster of paris in response to the harsh economic policies of the government Protests were peaceful Martial Law was later instituted by Deng Xiaoping and set up soldiers in Beijing People’s liberation Army (PLA) Sympathisers No action taken Government tried to wait off protest, however it failed (fighting spirit) Protest was made public Due to big news regarding Gorbachev's visit to China

Massacre

Massacre Death Toll Official figures:200-300 dead; Civilians+Soldiers Chinese censorship Actual figures: estimated around over 10,000 people Lated for two days against military fought against tanks, military grade weapons, and several harsh weapons Aimed at civilians/students Tourists also affected by gunfire Tank Man brought resistance to Chinese military People were silenced by the government as well as its harsh regimes Parents fought to see the corpses of their children, however were turned away from the sqaure and were shot at Event was made live and made it to the western world Reporters and photographers smuggled footage out of China People commended student protestors for resilience Future with China uncertain President George H.W. Bush denounced China in 1989 and stopped all military trade with China Some western countries continued trade with China

Results of Massacre

Results of Massacre Removal of some party leaders Zhao Ziyang, the then general secretary of CPC were forced to step down for their sympathy for those student protesters who went on a hunger strike. Conservative CPC members gained more power, and even the then actual boss Deng Xiaoping had less control over politics Jiang Zemin became the new party leader who still has influence on China's politics today. Heavy government censorship of speech and art Freedom of press and freedom of speech had been more severely suppressed A lot of Chinese media were punished for supporting the protests Later many google searches were banned in China relating to Tiananmen Square or other political uprisings Foreign media were restricted from entering China, and some foreign journalists were expelled in the following weeks Economic reform The economic reform in some provinces were slowed down Economic reform made some interest into capitalism Broke legitimacy of Chinese information