Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

The 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests (Tiananmen Square Massacre or June 4th Massacre or 6/4 incident), were a series of student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the People's Republic of China, between April 15, 1989 and June 4, 1989. The protest denounced China's economic instability and political corruption and was violently suppressed by the PRC government.

The Crackdown

The suppression of the protest was symbolised for many in the West by the famous footage and photographs of a lone protester, taken on June 5, standing in front of a column of advancing tanks, halting their progress. The "tank man" continued to stand defiantly in front of the tanks for half an hour before members of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) - China's secret police - pulled him away. Despite efforts, to this day Western media sources are unable to identify that solitary figure. Time Magazine dubbed him The Unknown Rebel and later named him one of the "100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century". Shortly after the incident, British tabloid the Sunday Express named him as Wang Weilin, a 19-year-old student; however, the veracity of this claim is dubious. What has happened to Wang following the demonstration is equally obscure. In a speech to the President's Club in 1999, Bruce Herschensohn — former deputy special assistant to President of the United States Richard Nixon and a member of the President Ronald Reagan transition team — reported that he was executed 14 days later; other sources say he was killed by a firing squad a few months after the Tiananmen Square protests. In Red China Blues: My Long March from Mao to Now, Jan Wong writes that the man is still alive in hiding in mainland China.

Related Topics:
June 5 - Tank man - Time Magazine - 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century - British - Tabloid - Sunday Express - 1999 - Deputy special assistant - President of the United States - Richard Nixon - Ronald Reagan - Executed - Firing squad - Jan Wong

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Within the Square itself, there was apparently a debate between those including Han Dongfang, who wished to withdraw peacefully, and those including Chai Ling, who wished to stand within the square at the risk of possibly creating a bloodbath. Those in favor of withdrawal won, and the protesters left the square. The PRC government has claimed that no one was killed in the square itself, a fact that by the accounts of those who were actually in the Square appears to be technically true, but misleading in that it does not account for the casualties in the approaches to the square. The number of dead and wounded remains a state secret. An unnamed Chinese Red Cross official at the time reported that 2,600 people were killed, and 30,000 injured. Two days later, Yuan Mu, the speaker of the State Council, estimated that 300 soldiers and citizens died, as well as 5,000 soldiers and 2,000 citizens injured, 400 soldiers lost contact. According to universities, 23 students died; nobody was crushed. Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and State Council later co-claimed that tens of PLA soldiers died and more injured. The Preparatory Committee of Autonomous Associations of Tsinghua University claimed that 4,000 died and 30,000 injured. Chen Xitong, Beijing mayor, reported at 26 days after the event that 36 students, tens of soldiers died amounting to a total of 200 dead, 3,000 civilians and 6,000 soldiers injured. http://www.sokamonline.com/indexPage/64-Kill.cfm. Foreign reporters that witnessed the incident have claimed that at least 3,000 people had died. Some lists of the casualties were created from underground sources with numbers as high as 5,000. http://www.chinasupport.net/news142.htm However, it is important to note that NSA documents declassified in 1999 show that their intelligence gives an estimate of 180-500 killed. Thus the various PRC government estimates are in agreement with the official US government estimate.

Related Topics:
Han Dongfang - Chai Ling - Red Cross - Yuan Mu - Tsinghua University

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Attempts were made during and after the suppression of the demonstration to arrest and prosecute the student leaders of the Chinese democracy movement, notably Wang Dan, Chai Ling and Wuer Kaixi. Wang Dan was caught and convicted and sent to prison, then allowed to emigrate to the United States on the grounds of medical parole. Wuer Kaixi escaped to Taiwan. He has then married and holds a job as a political commentator on National Taiwan TV. Chai Ling escaped to France and then the United States. Within the leadership, Zhao Ziyang, who had opposed martial law, was removed from power, and Jiang Zemin, the then Mayor of Shanghai, who was not involved at all in this event was elevated to become PRC's President. Members of the government eventually prepared a white paper on the incident, which was eventually published in the West in January 2001 as the Tiananmen Papers, which gives the government's viewpoint on the protests and was provided by an anonymous source purportedly within the PRC government. The papers include a quote by Communist Party elder Wang Zhen which alludes to the government's eventual response to the situation.

Related Topics:
Chinese democracy movement - Wang Dan - Chai Ling - Wuer Kaixi - United States - Medical parole - Taiwan - Zhao Ziyang - Jiang Zemin - White paper - Tiananmen Papers - Wang Zhen

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After the crackdown in Beijing on June 4, protests continued in much of mainland China for a number of days. The PRC government was able to end these protests outside of Beijing, without significant loss of life.

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Two CCTV presenters who reported news in the "News Network" program at June 4 were fired soon after the event.

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Wu Xiaoyong (吴晓镛), the son of a Communist Party of China Central Committee member, former PRC foreign minister and vice premier Wu Xueqian, were removed from the English Program Department of Chinese Radio International.

Related Topics:
Wu Xueqian - Chinese Radio International

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