Difference between revisions of "Tiananmen Square massacre"
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==Background== | ==Background== | ||
| + | In the months prior to the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]], pro-democracy movements worldwide flourished and socialism fell into disrepute. The CCP faced the challenge of large-scale protests in Beijing's [[Tiananmen Square]] and in more than 400 other cities including [[Shanghai]] between April 15, 1989, and June 4, 1989. Not only students, but also government employees, journalists, workers, police officers, members of the armed forces, and other citizens took part in the protests. | ||
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After [[Zhao Ziyang]] became the party General Secretary, the economic and political reforms he had championed came under increasing attack. His proposal in May 1988 to accelerate price reform led to widespread popular complaints about rampant [[inflation]] and gave opponents of rapid reform the opening to call for greater centralization of economic controls and stricter prohibitions against Western influence. This precipitated a political debate, which grew more heated through the winter of 1988-89. | After [[Zhao Ziyang]] became the party General Secretary, the economic and political reforms he had championed came under increasing attack. His proposal in May 1988 to accelerate price reform led to widespread popular complaints about rampant [[inflation]] and gave opponents of rapid reform the opening to call for greater centralization of economic controls and stricter prohibitions against Western influence. This precipitated a political debate, which grew more heated through the winter of 1988-89. | ||
| − | The death of [[Hu Yaobang]] on April 15, 1989, coupled with growing economic hardship caused by high inflation, provided the backdrop for a large-scale protest movement by students, intellectuals, and other parts of a disaffected urban population. University students and other citizens camped out in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to mourn Hu's death and to protest against those who would slow reform. Their protests, which grew despite government efforts to contain them, called for an end to official corruption and for defense of freedoms guaranteed by the Chinese constitution. Protests also spread to many other cities, including Shanghai, Chengdu, and Guangzhou | + | The death of [[Hu Yaobang]] on April 15, 1989, coupled with growing economic hardship caused by high inflation, provided the backdrop for a large-scale protest movement by students, intellectuals, and other parts of a disaffected urban population. University students and other citizens camped out in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to mourn Hu's death and to protest against those who would slow reform. Their protests, which grew despite government efforts to contain them, called for an end to official corruption and for defense of freedoms guaranteed by the Chinese constitution. Protests also spread to many other cities, including Shanghai, Chengdu, and Guangzhou. At least one million residents of Beijing were taking part in the protests.<ref>https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/one-million-protesters-take-to-the-streets-in-beijing</ref> |
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Disagreements about how to respond split the top Party leadership and forced out the Party General Secretary at the time, Zhao Ziyang. The decisions by Wang Zhen, Li Peng, and Paramount Leader [[Deng Xiaoping]] led them to conclude that the survival of their regime was at stake and order the [[People's Liberation Army]] to break up the pro-[[democracy]] protests by force, undermining the Party's legitimacy. | Disagreements about how to respond split the top Party leadership and forced out the Party General Secretary at the time, Zhao Ziyang. The decisions by Wang Zhen, Li Peng, and Paramount Leader [[Deng Xiaoping]] led them to conclude that the survival of their regime was at stake and order the [[People's Liberation Army]] to break up the pro-[[democracy]] protests by force, undermining the Party's legitimacy. | ||
Revision as of 09:01, August 10, 2021
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| Chinese | 六四事件 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | June Fourth Incident | ||||||||
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The Tiananmen Square massacre took place after a series of pro-democracy protests in over 400 cities across Communist China consisting of tens of millions of pro-democracy protesters between April 15, 1989 and June 4, 1989. They were the largest pro-democracy protests in the history of the planet. The protests were broken up when the establishment elites claimed it was an insurrection against the ruling order.
The massacre mainly took place on Tiananmen Square just outside the ofices of the tyrannical Chinese Communist Party ruling clique in Beijing.
Tiananmen Square had been the scene of earlier significant demonstrations in Chinese history, notably those of May 4, 1919 protesting against concessions to Japan, and the demonstrations of April 5, 1976 following the death of Zhou Enlai, the latter being broken up by police. The square was also the venue in 1966-67 of giant demonstrations by the Chinese Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.
Background
In the months prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, pro-democracy movements worldwide flourished and socialism fell into disrepute. The CCP faced the challenge of large-scale protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and in more than 400 other cities including Shanghai between April 15, 1989, and June 4, 1989. Not only students, but also government employees, journalists, workers, police officers, members of the armed forces, and other citizens took part in the protests.
After Zhao Ziyang became the party General Secretary, the economic and political reforms he had championed came under increasing attack. His proposal in May 1988 to accelerate price reform led to widespread popular complaints about rampant inflation and gave opponents of rapid reform the opening to call for greater centralization of economic controls and stricter prohibitions against Western influence. This precipitated a political debate, which grew more heated through the winter of 1988-89.
The death of Hu Yaobang on April 15, 1989, coupled with growing economic hardship caused by high inflation, provided the backdrop for a large-scale protest movement by students, intellectuals, and other parts of a disaffected urban population. University students and other citizens camped out in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to mourn Hu's death and to protest against those who would slow reform. Their protests, which grew despite government efforts to contain them, called for an end to official corruption and for defense of freedoms guaranteed by the Chinese constitution. Protests also spread to many other cities, including Shanghai, Chengdu, and Guangzhou. At least one million residents of Beijing were taking part in the protests.[1]
Disagreements about how to respond split the top Party leadership and forced out the Party General Secretary at the time, Zhao Ziyang. The decisions by Wang Zhen, Li Peng, and Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping led them to conclude that the survival of their regime was at stake and order the People's Liberation Army to break up the pro-democracy protests by force, undermining the Party's legitimacy.
Martial law was declared on May 20, 1989.
The massacre
June 4, 1989
Late on June 3 and early on the morning of June 4, PLA units were brought into Beijing. They used armed force to clear demonstrators from the streets. There are no official estimates of deaths in Beijing, but most observers believe that casualties numbered in the thousands.
In an object lesson about the duplicity of socialist slogans, buzzwords, and phrases geared toward the youth and the naive - China's People's Army killed 10,000 of China's own people.[2] In fact, China's People's Army has killed more of China's own people than it has ever been used against any foreign enemy in its entire history.
The scale of the murders went unreported in Western media for nearly 30 years.
Aftermath
After June 4, while foreign governments expressed horror at the brutal suppression of the demonstrators, the central government eliminated remaining sources of organized opposition, detained large numbers of protesters, and required political reeducation not only for students but also for large numbers of party cadre and government officials. The crackdown was a source of friction between China and the West, and also between the visiting Mikhail Gorbachev and the Chinese Government.[3]
No sanctions were ever leveled by Western powers and globalists for these naked human rights violations. In fact, China was welcomed into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and granted Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status by the United States in 2002, having made no reforms to its socialist, authoritarian and totalitarian system.
U.S. response
Four weeks after the slaughter, President George H.W. Bush sent National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger on a secret mission to Beijing to engage CCP Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping directly,[4] after Bush’s attempts to reach Deng via telephone hotline were rebuffed. Bush personally wanted to “preserve” the U.S.-China relationship at all costs and get the relationship “back on track.” Bush and other senior officials praised and encouraged the collapse of communism as the regimes of Eastern Europe were being toppled in the second half of 1989 by their citizens one after another, but no praise and encouragement for the people of China.[5]
Tiananmen massacre helped fuel an explosive growth of Christianity in China
See also: Growth of Christianity in China and East Asia and global desecularization
The Tiananmen Square massacre fueled a big rise in Chinese interest in Christianity.[6]
Recognition
On June 14, 1989, Former President Ronald Reagan spoke about the massacre.[7][8] He said: "The seeds of democracy have been planted. It may take years or even decades before the people of these countries can sit in the shade of democracy, but sit in the shade of democracy they someday will."
See also
External links
- Chinese Killed At Least 10,000 At Tiananmen Square, Newly Declassified Documents Claim
- Victims of Tiananmen Massacre, Beijing, June 4, 1989.
- U.S.-China Diplomacy After Tiananmen: Documents from the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library
References
- ↑ https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/one-million-protesters-take-to-the-streets-in-beijing
- ↑ "Chinese Killed At Least 10,000 At Tiananmen Square, Newly Declassified Documents Claim", Daily Caller, 12/24/2017.
- ↑ Tiananmen - the Rape of Peking. Michael Fathers and Andrew Higgins, 1989.
- ↑ https://apnews.com/article/e91d5cfaf764de1750eb1a66b5e191d0
- ↑ https://www.chinafile.com/conversation/other-tiananmen-papers
- ↑ Militant atheists caused a massive and explosive growth of Christianity
- ↑ Reagan Gets A Red Carpet From British, The New York Times, June 14, 1989, "You cannot massacre an idea, you cannot run tanks over hope. You cannot riddle a people's yearning with bullets. Those heroic Chinese students who gave their lives have released the spirit of democracy and it cannot be called back. That spirit is loose upon the world this spring."
- ↑ President Reagan Speaks Out on Tiananmen Square Massacre, NBC