tiananmen square - 1989. nearly 1 million chinese, mostly students, crowded into central beijing...
TRANSCRIPT
Nearly 1 million Chinese, mostly students, crowded into central Beijing
They protested for greater democracy and call for the resignations of Chinese Communist Party leaders
Demonstrations took place between April 15 and June 4, 1989.
Demonstrations began after the death on April 15 of former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang.
Hu Yaobang
General Secretary of the Communist Party
Widely admired for his moderate policies
Was a reformist and forced out of office
Hu Yaobang’s Beliefs
• Wanted rehabilitation of people persecuted during the Cultural Revolution
• Believed Tibet should have greater autonomy• Have better relations
with Japan
Protesters erected a Goddess of Liberty Statue resembling the Statue of Liberty
This was their call for more freedom
The protests mainly took place in Tiananmen Square but also occurred in several cities in China
Tension grew when Mikhail Gorbachev’s (Russia) visit ceremony had to be cancelled
Estimates between 250 up to 7,000 people were killed
Sources reports indicate close to 2,500 were killed by soldiers
Chinese government would not release actual death toll
Tanks were reported to have driven over protesters in tents
Troops fired indiscriminately at crowds – fired on unarmed citizens
Chinese government asked the hospitals not to report any numbers on deaths or injuries
Thousands of protesters were rounded up and put in prisons
How the western world remembers the Tiananmen Square Massacre:
• Students protested for democracy• Chinese government sent troops and tanks in
to stop the protest• Student protesters were brutally massacred