Chinese students begin protests at Tiananmen Square
Six days after the death of Hu Yaobang the deposed reform-minded leader of the Chinese Communist Party some 100000 students gather at Beijings Tiananmen Square to commemorate Hu and voice their discontent with Chinas authoritative communist government.The next day an official memorial service for Hu Yaobang was held in Tiananmens Great Hall of the People and student representatives carried a petition to the steps of the Great Hall demanding to meet with Premier Li Peng.The Chinese government refused such a meeting leading to a general boycott of Chinese universities across the country and widespread calls for democratic reforms.Ignoring government warnings of violent suppression of any mass demonstration students from more than 40 universities began a march to Tiananmen on April 27.
The students were joined by workers intellectuals and civil servants and by mid-May more than a million people filled the square the site of communist leaders Mao Zedongs proclamation of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949.On May 20 the government formally declared martial law in Beijing and troops and tanks were called in to disperse the dissidents.However large numbers of students and citizens blocked the armys advance and by May 23 government forces had pulled back to the outskirts of Beijing.On June 3 with negotiations to end the protests stalled and calls for democratic reforms escalating the troops received orders from the Chinese government to reclaim Tiananmen at all costs.
By the end of the next day Chinese troops had forcibly cleared Tiananmen Square and Beijings streets killing hundreds of demonstrators and arresting thousands of protesters and other suspected dissidents.In the weeks after the government crackdown an unknown number of dissidents were executed and communist hard-liners took firm control of the country.The international community was outraged at the incident and economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries sent Chinas economy into decline.However by late 1990 international trade had resumed thanks in part to Chinas release of several hundred imprisoned dissidents.
