Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 …. 25 years ago today!!

~~June 4, 2014~~

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, commonly known as the June Fourth Incident or more accurately ’89 Democracy Movement in Chinese, were student-led popular demonstrations in Beijing which took place in the spring of 1989 and received broad support from city residents, exposing deep splits within China’s political leadership. The protests were forcibly suppressed by hardline leaders who ordered the military to enforce martial law in the country’s capital.

The crackdown that initiated on June 3–4 became known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre or the June 4 Massacre as troops with assault rifles and tanks inflicted casualties on unarmed civilians trying to block the military’s advance towards Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing, which student demonstrators had occupied for seven weeks.

June Fourth Incident
Part of Chinese Democracy Movement in 1989
Type 59 tanks on Tiananmen Square. “Tank Man” is visible in the lower left.
Date	15 April 1989 – 4 June 1989 (1 month, 2 weeks and 6 days)
Location	Beijing 400 cities nationwide
Causes	Death of Hu Yaobang Economic reform Inflation Political corruption Economic nepotism (especially regarding Zhao Ziyang‘s and Deng Xiaoping‘s sons) Career prospects Social unrest in Eastern Europe
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	Enforcement of martial law in certain areas of Beijing executed by force from 3 June 1989 (declared from 20 May 1989 – 10 January 1990, 7 months and 3 weeks) Tens of deaths and hundreds of injuries of military and police personnel (in riots and accidents) Protesters (mainly workers) and rioters barricading the PLA troops and nearby innocent civilians shot by some PLA troops (mainly 38th Army) on multiple sites in Beijing but outside of Tiananmen Square, hundreds killed, more wounded Uncertain reports of few and isolated deaths of civilians near Tiananmen Square Protesters (mainly students) peacefully withdrew from Tiananmen Square after negotiating with the PLA Protest leaders and pro-democracy activists later exiled or imprisoned Democracy Movement suppressed Zhao Ziyang purged Jiang Zemin promoted Western economic sanctions and arms embargoes on the PRC Market reforms delayed Media control tightened Political reform halted
Parties to the civil conflict
Communist Party of China  Government of the People’s Republic of China  People’s Liberation Army  People’s Armed Police(no gunfire) University students Factory workers Intellectuals Pro-democracy protesters Reformists
Lead figures
hardliners Deng Xiaoping Li Peng Yang Shangkun Yao Yilin Li Ximing Chen Xitong Chi Haotian Liu Huaqing moderates Zhao Ziyang Hu Qili Yan Mingfu Bao Tong Wan Li Xu Qinxian student leaders Wu’erkaixi Chai Ling Wang Dan Liu Gang Feng Congde Li Lu intellectuals Liu Xiaobo Wang Juntao Dai Qing Hou Dejian
Casualties
Death(s)	241–2,600
Injuries	7,000–10,000

~CLEAR VIEW~

The Chinese government condemned the protests as a “counter-revolutionary riot”, and has prohibited all forms of discussion or remembrance of the events since. 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.

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. 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. The protesters called for government accountability, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the restoration of workers’ control over industry. At the height of the protests, about a million people assembled in the Square.

The government initially took a conciliatory stance toward the protesters. The student-led hunger strike galvanized support for the demonstrators around the country and the protests spread to 400 cities by mid-May. Ultimately, China’s paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and other party elders resolved to use force. Party authorities declared martial law on May 20, and mobilized as many as 300,000 troops to Beijing.

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. 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. The Chinese government was widely condemned internationally for the use of force against the protesters.

Western governments imposed economic sanctions and arms embargoes.

~~SOURCES~~ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chai-ling/tiananmen-china_b_1565235.html

~~FULL PHOTOS~~

http://mashable.com/2014/06/04/tiananmen-square-massacre-photos/

~~Tiananmen Square massacre remembered 25 years later~~

~~Published on Jun 3, 2014~~

Today marks 25 years since a protest in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square turned into a massacre. We took a look back at the haunting moment in China’s history.

More than a million people gathered in the square in the spring of 1989, demanding freedom and change. However, when the military was mobilised, bloodshed followed. To this day, estimates of the death toll range from a few hundred to the thousands.

This image of a lone ‘Tank Man’ blocking several tanks has been named one of the most influential of the 20th century.

~Report by Claire Mewse~

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