| It
is usually called the Tiananmen Square Massacre. For seven
weeks in the revolutionary year of 1989, Chinese students
and citizens took over Tiananmen Square in Beijing, calling
for reforms and greater freedom. It seemed for a while that
revolution was coming to China. But by the time it was over
there had been a massive crackdown by the government and thousands
of demonstrators had been killed. The government was once
again firmly in control.
It
began on April 15, 1989. Hu Yaobing, a Chinese leader who
had been fairly tolerant of student demonstrations in 1986,
died. Students in Beijing mourned his passing by meeting in
Tiananmen Square and voicing their grievances.
On
April 26, The Communist Party newspaper People's Daily in
an editorial accused "an extremely small number of people with ulterior
purposes"of inciting the students to unrest in order
to overthrow the Communist government. There were warnings
to students that force might be used. |
