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THE PRC…

 Xiaoping takes over control of China soon after Mao dies (1978) (rules until 1992)  His rule turns China in a slightly different direction; begins to open the country a bit more  Eases strict economic controls of the government  Allows students to study abroad  Welcomes foreign investment **But still maintains a tight grip on power, and stifled attempts at real reform and democratization

 Jiang Zemin (90s) and Hu Jintao (2000s)  Both continued to increase the role of China on the world stage  Both tried to modernize China’s economy, and introduced reforms that would make it more of a free- market  But China remained a communist political system, with one-party control, centralized planning, and mostly government ownership of the means of production

 Reforms of Deng Xiaoping had created two dissatisfied groups  Urban workers – reforms had gone too far ▪ Caused unemployment and lower wages; wanted less reforms  Intellectuals/students – want more reforms ▪ See other Communist nations (Russia) opening up;  But peasants were happy with Deng’s leadership ▪ Had seen their incomes rise during the 1980’s as a result of government programs. ▪ But they were too far removed from the cities to be supportive of the government during the protests

 Means “Gate of Heavenly Peace”  One hundred acres in all  One of the most heavily monitored central squares in the world  Cameras, speakers for crowd control  …”Could accommodate all 30 teams of the NFL plus 190 other teams, each playing separate games. Or, if you put a mountain in the middle, you could hold the Winter Olympics there instead.”

 Students march to Tiananmen in 1987 to demonstrate against policies of government  Police are ready, and they club students  Students are beaten and carried away  Chinese official Hu Yaobang prevents many students from being jailed, and arranges for buses to take them back to campuses  “Hard-liners” not happy with Hu; he is ousted from his position  Students who were involved in the protests were assigned to terrible jobs in bad locations after they graduate…

 The death of Hu Yaobang  Former Sec. Gen. of Communist Party ▪ Popular reformer in government ▪ Became a scapegoat for the government; criticized by state editorials after his death  His death on April 15 th, 1989 provides students with an opportunity to gather… ▪ …To mourn his death ▪ …To call on the government to reverse its criticism of his actions while in office

 Protests grow…  Students join amidst claims of clashes between police and protesters, and reports that Chinese media was distorting the events  Takes on more of a pro-democracy slant as the numbers grow  Students demand more democratic representation, student union organization, and end to corruption

 May 4 th : approximately 100,000 students march in Beijing demanding media reform and negotiations with the Communist leadership  Sparked by State-run newspapers calling previous marches “an organized conspiracy to sow chaos”  May 13 th : Large groups of students in the Square start a hunger strike  Supported by hundreds of thousands of other students and protestors in Beijing and other Chinese cities  Daily marches and protests begin to occur in Tiananmen Square  May 20 th :Martial law declared in Beijing  Military attempts to enter the city, but soldiers are inexperienced and reluctant to use force against the protestors blocking their path

 A statue of the Goddess of Democracy is erected in the Square  Communist leaders remain split on their plan of action  Some want to use the military to crack down on the protestors  Some want to take a softer approach with the protestors

 PLA soldiers and tanks sent into the Square to disperse the protestors  Units more experienced and from other regions of China  Soldiers use deadly force to disperse protestors  Tear gas, AK-47s, flamethrowers, APCs  Estimates of civilian deaths vary  (CIA)  2600 (Chinese Red Cross)  About 10,000 injured

 Government and PLA arrest the supporters of the movement  Ban the foreign press from covering the event and the aftermath  Strictly control the Chinese media coverage as well  These moves cause widespread international condemnation  The international press struggles to make sense of what went on, and to report the events to the world…