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The May Fourth Movement was a reform movement which occurred annually in China from 1917 to 1921. When the [[Treaty of Versailles]] gave the land that [[Germany]] had taken from China to Japan, the Chinese demonstrated against the decision. The Movement was supported by the [[Nationalist Party]] and important intellectuals, such as Hu Feng, [[Hu Shi]] and Ouyang Xiu. Its goal was to reach national independence and freedom for everyone.

The May Fourth Movement was a reform movement which occurred annually in China from 1917 to 1921. When the [[Treaty of Versailles]] gave the land that [[Germany]] had taken from China to Japan, the Chinese demonstrated against the decision. The Movement was supported by the [[Nationalist Party]] and important intellectuals, such as Hu Feng, [[Hu Shi]] and Ouyang Xiu. Its goal was to reach national independence and freedom for everyone.

===April 5 1976 movement===

===April 5, 1976 movement===

People all over the country came to Tiananmen Square after the death of Premier [[Zhou Enlai]] on Chinese Memorial Day in April of 1976. They expressed their grievances in poetry and wall papers complaining about the government's domination by the [[Gang of Four]], with Mao's widow as the head. On April 5, the Memorial Day, the police relentlessly crushed this movement with lances and clubs. The number of people who died in that crackdown is still unknown. In the following several months, the CCP began a nationwide terror campaign by arresting and purging participants.

People all over the country came to Tiananmen Square after the death of Premier [[Zhou Enlai]] on Chinese Memorial Day in April 1976. They expressed their grievances in poetry and wall papers complaining about the government's domination by the [[Gang of Four]], with Mao's widow as the head. On April 5, the Memorial Day, the police relentlessly crushed this movement with lances and clubs. The number of people who died in that crackdown is still unknown. In the following several months, the CCP began a nationwide terror campaign by arresting and purging participants.

===1979 Xidan democracy wall event===

===1979 Xidan democracy wall event===

Undaunted by the anti-Aptil 5 movement campaign, some young men continued to make harsh criticisms of the policy of no political reform made by Deng Xiaoping, who had just returned to power. They put forward a series of supposedly radical ideas by posting wall papers in Xidan, a busy street to the west of Tiananmen Square. Many of these young men, who had over-optimistically estimated the political atmosphere, were put in jail one after another. Wei Jingsheng, one of the most famous dissidents in China, spent 15 years in jail until he was released in 1993.

Undaunted by the anti-April 5 movement campaign, some young men continued to make harsh criticisms of the policy of no political reform made by Deng Xiaoping, who had just returned to power. They put forward a series of supposedly radical ideas by posting wall papers in Xidan, a busy street to the west of Tiananmen Square. Many of these young men, who had over-optimistically estimated the political atmosphere, were put in jail one after another. Wei Jingsheng, one of the most famous dissidents in China, spent 15 years in jail until he was released in 1993.

===1987 Anti-bourgeois liberalization movement===

===1987 Anti-bourgeois liberalization movement===

===Tiananmen Square massacre===

===Tiananmen Square massacre===

See the article [[Tiananmen Square massacre]]

See the article [[Tiananmen Square massacre]]

After Zhao 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 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.  

===Self-immolation hoax on Tiananmen Square===

===Self-immolation hoax on Tiananmen Square===

See the article [[Falun_Gong#Persecution]]

See the article [[Falun Gong#Persecution]]

By the end of 2000, a year and a half after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the suppression of [[Falun Gong]], the campaign had failed to garner support among many of the CCP's rank and file. Then-CCP leader [[Jiang Zemin]] had toured southern provinces earlier in 2000 hoping to shore up more support for the campaign among local leaders. Meanwhile, public support for the campaign more broadly had waned. On January 23, 2001, five individuals allegedly set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square. The entire scene was caught on camera from multiple angles. Beginning just hours after the event, state-controlled media was flooded with reports that the self-immolators were Falun Gong practitioners. These reports included grisly footage of the victims, portraying Falun Gong teachings as directly responsible for the tragedy.

By the end of 2000, a year and a half after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the suppression of [[Falun Gong]], the campaign had failed to garner support among many of the CCP's rank and file. Then-CCP leader [[Jiang Zemin]] had toured southern provinces earlier in 2000 hoping to shore up more support for the campaign among local leaders. Meanwhile, public support for the campaign more broadly had waned. On January 23, 2001, five individuals allegedly set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square. The entire scene was caught on camera from multiple angles. Beginning just hours after the event, state-controlled media was flooded with reports that the self-immolators were Falun Gong practitioners. These reports included grisly footage of the victims, portraying Falun Gong teachings as directly responsible for the tragedy.