Protesters in Beijing China, 1989, took a stand against a communist government in many protest in Tiananmen Square in the spring and summer months. College students in the area called for the change in early mourning for the death of Hu Yaobang, who died on April 15th, 1989, who wanted to help make more democratic changes to the government of China. Soon more people joined in, leading to the peak of 1.2 million people who came not only for protest but to see General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhao Ziyang, plead for everyone to go home and end the hunger strikes so people can get through the area and have peace. But, on May 19th, Martial Law is declared by Premier Li Peng of the communist Chinese government, and not too long after
The Tiananmen Square Massacre greatly impacted the way the rest of the world viewed the Chinese government. Imagine not having the freedom of speech that we do today, or living in a country that kills the innocent. In 1989, college students exercised their right to freedom of speech while protesting their communist leaders, and the leaders of Communist China put the demonstration down with military force resulting in possibly thousands killed. But, throughout the last 25 years China has grown and developed into a much different country than it was during the late 1980’s. Granted, the country still has a long way to go before it resembles the democracy present in the United States today, but it seems to be headed in the right direction.
Even with her previous experiences at Beijing University and at Big Joy Farm, Wong still held some belief that the Chinese system wasn’t as bad as it was sometimes made out to be. This event proved to her that it was. “The enormity of the massacre hit home…Although it had been years since I was a Maoist, I still had harbored some small hope for China. Now even that was gone” (259). As a reporter Wong was able to view the progression of the protests in leading up to the massacre, and in viewing it understood that the Chinese people were much more independent than they had previously demonstrated over the past 50 years. She had continuously seen the Chinese people following what they were told between learning in school or with physical labor, yet this protest was one of the first large scale displays of the unacceptance of the regime by the people, and the government did not know what to do with it. But because of this, Wong was able to recognize that the people were not reliant on this way of life that they had previously been bound to, but truly could lead for themselves and take control. The massacre awakened Wong both to the reality that the government was not acting to benefit the people, and that the people were more than capable of acting for
On April 27, 1989, hundreds of Chinese protestors took a stand against the oppressive and corrupt government to fight for reform and democracy by occupying Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The protests were preceded by a memorial for Hu Yaobang, a Communist leader unpopular amongst Party members for his liberal ideas and lack of enthusiasm for Marxism and Maoism. Marxism is the political theories of Karl Marx which became the basis of Communism and the inspiration for Mao Zedong to create Maoism. Approximately 100,000 students had traveled to Tiananmen Square for Hu Yaobang’s memorial. Following the memorial, students presented a petition to meet with Premier Li Peng which the government refused. This led to a boycott of universities but also led to more demand for democracy. Catalyzing the protests was the unfair treatment of the Chinese people at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. Along with students, civil servants, scholars and laborers joined the protests, risking their lives, jobs and reputations. By June of 1989, negotiations were in place to end the protests, now amounting to over a million people and for democratic reform. Mao Zedong had ordered troops
According to Document C , the most fundamental concept of democracy “ is the idea that the government exists to secure the rights of the people and must be based on the consent of the governed ”.In the spring of 1989, Chinese university and high school students along with other protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square to protest against government. The protesters called out the government on corruption and demanded for a democracy. The results of Tiananmen Square was that the United States imposed diplomatic and economic sanctions on China. When the nation is based on consent of the governed, the ultimate authority is the people.
The Tiananmen Square massacre happened on June 4, 1989. Chinese troops arrested and killed many pro-democratic protesters at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Young students were the majority of the protesters and they wanted the Chinese Communist Party to stop corruption. The protests started in May and continued into June, where they became more violent. When the troops opened fire on the protesters, some fought back. Grace’s description of the massacre was very accurate. She described it as very violent and the troops ran over protesters with tanks. Grace and her Mom went to the
Though termed the Tiananmen Square Massacre, this incident actually took place throughout China. What started out as a peaceful protest calling for political and economic reforms, soon turned to bloodshed. (Hu 2015)This greatly impacted China's international relationships. Contact between China and Western nations declined, official visits were suspended. Western powers imposed arms embargoes and economic sanctions, preventing the sale of military equipment, and approval of loans. (The National Bureau of Asian Research) Understanding the causes of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and its effects on China’s international relationships, aids in better understanding the nuances of this infamous incident.
After the Revolutionary war, many countries were influenced by the Declaration of Independence. During the year of 1989, protesters and students from a Chinese university crowded Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The group protested against the corruption of government and demanded a change to democracy. Unfortunately, the group was suppressed and the protest ended in tragedy, about 3,000 people were
Imagine. Imagine having the continuous feeling of needing to act a certain way because that is what the government wants. Imagine having to worship in an underground church because of belonging to the "wrong" religion. Imagine being blind and not being able to learn because the government cannot accept a disability. Lastly, imagine being killed because of simply disagreeing. This is everyday life in China for many people because of what the Communist Chinese government has caused for decades. Human Rights Abuse in China has caused millions of deaths and permanent injuries. In 1979, the One Child Policy was created and ever since then the abuse has escalated into being a normal part of lives. On June 4 1989, the government took the abuse to a whole other level. This fateful day was called the Tiananmen Square crackdown. This was the day of millions of deaths. China's government truly takes human rights violations to an extreme and has caused fear among their people. The government has previously claimed
The first Cultural Revolution of China’s 20th century began with the May Fourth Movement on May 4th, 1919. The May Fourth Movement in China was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement. Although it physically began on May 4, 1919, it actually lasted from about 1917 until 1923. It marked the rapid rise of Chinese Nationalism as well as a re-evaluation of Confucianism. The movement was sparked by the dissatisfaction with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles settlement regarding China. The treaty endorsed the Japanese takeover of the German concessions in the Shandong peninsula. The movement was an attempt to redefine the culture, political, and intellectual state of China. The movement
In 1989 Beijing, China at the Forbidden City, an event happened on June 4th at the Tiananmen Square. There was a massacre caused by the government at the Tiananmen Square, due to the actions of the university students protesting for democracy. But thousands of university students along with Chinese citizens were slayed and arrested that night including my friends Lao Xu and Xin Hua.
China has been a communist country since the communist revolution took place in 1949, since then China has been ruled by the dictator Mao Tse-Tung. However the Chinese dictator died in September 1976, he was hailed abroad as one of the worlds’ great leaders. Certainly one of the more impressive aspects of the Chinese communist government, has been the willingness of the people to protest against it (3, pg. 4).
Tiananmen Square is a city square in the centre of Beijing, China. It is named after Tiananmen, “Gate of Heavenly Peace.” The square contains the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong died on September 9, 1976. At the time of his death, China was in a political and economic dilemma. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and factional fighting had left the country much poorer, weaker, and isolated than it had been in 1965. A large amount of experienced party officials, intellectuals, and professionals were deteriorating in prison or working in factories, mines, and fields. Many schools had been closed, and an entire generation of young people were unable to obtain an education. The ethics of China turned under Deng Xiaoping to a form of "market socialism." He introduced
One of such events that shook the world became the student protest on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, in 1989 which eventually
The Shanghai (Xinjiang) Riots and Tiananmen Square Massacre were a direct result from government corruption. The Shanghai (Xinjiang) riots developed around 1994. It began with about 10,000 “incidents” with 730,000 participants, it grew to 74,000 “incidents” with 3.8 million participants. There have been many casualties or as referred to by the government “incidents” by these riots, in 2000, there were 5,500 and in 2003 there were 58,000. These riots are due to overworked textile workers striking, villagers trying to keep their land from being taking over, but mostly because of poor victims of the transition to a market economy. This was directly a cause of government corruption due to unequal distribution of wealth and police abuse. A rioter stated “people can see who corrupt the government is while they barely have enough to eat.” However, this problem originated before those riots occurred. 5 years before that happened; a more famous incident took place, the Tiananmen Square Massacre. July 4th, 1989, thousands of students gathered outside Tiananmen Square to protest for a more democratic government. Chinese government sent officials
The Chinese Communist Revolution succeeded to dispose of capitalism and imperialism. The Communists and the Nationalists started their fight in the 1920s; however, Japanese invasions forced the two sides to formulate a temporary truce to battle off the Japanese at the time of World War Two. During the war, the Nationalist Army started to fade and weaken while the Communists grew and prospered because strong guerilla tactics helped the Communists dominate against the opposition (Schaff, 2009). At the time, China was managed by European countries who took no action against the Japanese occupation, and so, China economically began collapsing. Zedong used the war to his advantage as an opportunity to see how strong his reign over the army was. Ultimately, Chairman Mao Zedong led the Communist Party to victory over the Nationalists to form the People’s Republic of China (Young, 2001). Social and economic ailments and the unfair treatment of peasants gave rise to the communist revolution in China, which resulted in the destruction of the economy and a tilt to the balance of authority between the Western powers and Communists.