1989 Chinese student protest (Tiananmen Square)

By: Sulandria Hayward

What caused the protest?

Government denied the student’s want of more political freedom.

Was asked to stop their peaceful memorial for their hero Mao Zedong.

Results The government of the PCR was condemned

by the international community. It was the start of the fall of the Soviet Union Nearly 2600 people were reported dead. Many young leaders of the protest were

either arrested, went into hiding, or left the country.

Timeline of 1989MAY

13: 400 students begin hunger strike. 20: students join other protesters in Tiananmen Square. 20: Chinese government declares martial law in beijing.

JUNE 3: Ayatolla Khomeini dies from heart attck 4: Army attacks protesters 4: Was said that leaders of the protest will be found and

executed.

Important Person #1

Wang Dan was one of the leaders of the 1989 Chinese Student protest in Tiananmen Square also known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. He was one of the many students who got arrested for participating in the protest. He is currently studying for a master’s degree in modern Chinese history at Harvard University.

Important Person #2

Xiao Qiang was one of the students who participated in the protest. He is the student who stood in front of the tanks to stop them. He is now a director of the Berkeley China Internet Project at the University of California, Berkeley.

Important Person #3

Wuer Xaixi was another student leader in the Tiananmen Square Massacre. He achieved prominence while studying at Beijing Normal University. He moved to Taiwan and started a family and continued to host radio programs. While in the Chinese democracy movement, he was criticized for being an opportunist with no real dedication to seeing democracy in China. He has had trouble with his weight and alcohol. He has been used by businesses eager to capitalize on his famous name.

Beijing, China The 1989 Chinese

Student Protest happened in Beijing, China

What is it and what happened?

The Tiananmen Square Massacre was a protest in the people’s republic of china which happened in 1989.

After the death of Mao Zedong in 1989, thousands of students began massing day after day. They wanted more political freedom. They also wanted democracy, but when the government declined, they began to protest, so the government sent in the army and tanks to kill the students who were participating. As soon as the army and tanks came, one student stood in front of the tanks to stop them.

Primary SourceFrom when I was arrested in Beijing on July 2, 1989 to when I arrived in Detroit by Northwest Airlines on April 19, 1998, I was arrested

twice, was sentenced twice for a total of fifteen years, and was detained ten times for short times. I spent more than six years in prison. From when I was twenty years old to when I was thirty years old, I kept on confronting the Chinese government. During these ten years, I chiefly did three things. Just for these three things I was sentenced two times.(“My Experiences” 1)

On May 13, 1989 I and Wuer Kaixi, Chai Ling, and others initiated a hunger strike in Tiananmen Square. We asked the government to admit that the student movement was not turmoil, and we asked the government to have a dialogue with the students as soon as possible. (“My Experiences” 2)

On May 19, the government proclaimed martial law in the Beijing area. As a reaction, on May 23, every autonomous organization met to form a union. I was in charge of this meeting. So, from that time, I left the headquarters in Tiananmen Square. On May 27, we suggested that the students withdraw from the square, but this suggestion was rejected by the students left in the square. On June 4, the government sent tanks and regular troops to drive away the masses on the streets and in the square by military force. More than one thousand students and citizens were killed. The democracy movement was suppressed. Then, the government issued an order to search for twenty-one student leaders all over the country. I was the number one on that most-wanted list. I was arrested on July 2 in Beijing and was quickly put into prison. One and one-half years later I was sentenced to four years for participating in a “counterrevolutionary conspiracy,” but I was released early in February 1993. (“My Experiences” 2)

We can see from my experience that everything I did only had one goal and that was to make the Chinese political situation more democratic, to guarantee the human rights of the Chinese people. From the beginning to the end, I respected the principles of peace, reason, and nonviolence and I tried to limit my actions to remain within the law. But despite this, the government still could not tolerate it. I paid my precious years for my ideals. This is proof that there is a long distance in the consciousness of democracy and the standard of human rights of the Chinese government from the average level of the international community.(“My Experiences” 3)

The people of my age can be called “the Tiananmen generation” because we all had similar experiences during June 4. I think the main goal of the Tiananmen generation is to bring a new face to China, but it will be a long time to realize this. So I hope I can pay more attention to my studies so that I can accumulate more knowledge and experience and strengthen my abilities. I believe in twenty or thirty years China will appear in the international community with a new face. I mean that is as a democratic, responsible, and reasonable country. For this goal, we would like to connect with every group from the international community, especially with Americans. (“My Experiences” 3)

Photo #1 This is a photo of Xiao

Qiang standing in front of the tanks refusing to let them by

Photo #2 This is a picture of the

students at the peaceful memorial.

Photo #3 This is a picture of Mao

Zedong the chinese student’s hero that they had the memorial for.

Photo #4 This a photo of the

chinese students protesting in Tiananmen Square

The 5 Sources “The Tank Man Frontline.” 9 May 2008

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/interviews/xiao.html.

“Wuer Xaixi” Wikinfo. 12 May 2008 http://www.wikinfo.org/index.php/wuer_Kaixi.

“Goldstein Lecture on Human Rights 1999.” The Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Lecture on Human Rights. 12 May 2008 http://images.google.com/imgres.

Somodevilla,Chip. “JAMD” 12 May 2008 http://images.google.com.