Notes
- June 3-4 1989
- Democracy movements had grown in strength since the arrival of Deng
- May 4 1989 they have mass rallies in honour of the 70th anniversary of the last major democratic uprising
- Many students remain and start a hunger strike
- Li peng took a harsh stance on this and ordered the PLA to take whatever action necessary
- Army arrives in early June and reluctant to deal with the crowd
- 3 June they broke into the square and opened fire
- 400-800 people killed, many were not students and many killed on streets outside of the square
- Reaffirmed China's Hardline on party dissent and public freedom
Summary
Between June 3 and 4 of 1989, one of the most iconic struggles in China would take place. Democracy movements had grown in strength since the arrival of Deng, and mass rallies began taking place in Tiananmen Square. They began taking place on May 4 in honour of the 70th anniversary of the last major democratic uprising. Afterwards, many students remain and start a hunger strike. In order to reassert China's dominance, Li Peng took a harsh stance on this, and ordered the PLA to take whatever action necessary. The army would arrive in early June, and they are reluctant to deal with the crowd initially. However, on the third of June, they broke into the square and opened fire. Though China says no one was killed in the incident, it was clear that somewhere between 400 and 800 people were killed in the massacre. This reaffirmed China's hardline stance on party dissent and the freedom of the public. It showed that economic changes were possible for China, but politically they had no intention of changing. This massacre would bring forward the most iconic image that would come from China during this period, Tank Man. He stood in front of at least 10 tanks, blocking their path into Tiananmen Square before he was eventually taken away by other protesters. Nobody knows what happened to him.
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