A series of demonstrations by college students in 1919, marked a new era of western style democracy in China. In 1919, students gathered in Tiananmen Square to protest against the Versailles Treaty, which granted German territories in China to Japan. The treaty would not allow China to receive lands they lost during World War I. The protests were later called the "May 4th Movement." This was the starting point of many protests that would take place in Tiananmen Square, including the most famous protest in 1989, which cost thousands of students' lives.

When China's leader Mao, who was head of state and chairman of China's communist Party, died in 1976, Deng Xiaoping took over the control of China. Mao planned to reshape China's economy by Marxist socialism. During Mao's rule, changes in China's economy, such as Mao's communes which led to famine, affected industry and business so that all private companies were nationalized. Communes took over land that was owned by small farm owners to create one large united farm. Farmers who lived on the farm before the commune was created, had to pay rent to the new owners. This led to famine because small farm owners had to pay rent with the only food they were able to grow on their small area of rented land. When Deng took over control, he was willing to follow by capitalist ideas to revitalize China's economy.

 

testPicture of Deng Xiapong

Picture of Deng Xiapong

Picture of Deng Xiapong

Picture of Mao

In the beginning of Deng's rule, he proclaimed the Second Revolution. This revolution eliminated Mao's communes and allowed people to pay rent by delivering food to the government. Deng's economic policies produced changes in Chinese life by allowing the "Open Door Policy." This policy allowed foreigners to enter China with new ideas. This policy did not only allow western investments and tourists, but also books and new ideas. Students began to read more and more about life in other countries, especially the United States. The United States government intrigued students when they discovered the United States was a democratic nation, a nation controlled by the people. China was led by a communist dictatorship, which is one all powering leader who owns means of production and enforces communist ideals. The people of China had a limited amount of rights, which people of the United States had. The major rights that the people in China wanted to be entitled to that the United States had were freedom of speech, freedom to vote, and freedom of press. These were rights which the students of China were protesting for in Tiananmen Square.

In the spring of 1989, more than 100,000 students marched through Beijing to Tiananmen Square. Throughout the march, students chanted, "Down with corruption, down with dictatorship, press freedom, long live democracy." Students gathered in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Hu and have their opinions heard about democracy in China. On April 16, 1989, Hu, a Former Party General Secretary, died from a heart attack. After he died, many Dazibaos, which are big character newspapers or wall posters with political messages,were placed throughout college campuses. These posters called for more economic and democratic reforms.

Students felt close to Hu because he often let the students' voices be heard about democracy. In 1987, Hu was officially disgraced after he was accused of being to "soft" on the students who were demonstrating in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in December 1986. Zhao Ziyang then replaced Hu. In April of 1989, the official memorial service was held for Hu and three students demanded to meet with the Prime Minister Li Peng. The students wanted to know why Hu was dismissed in 1987. When Li Peng refused to meet with them, students gathered and protested in Tiananmen Square for China to become a democratic nation. They felt they should be given the freedom of speech.

In return of the call for protesting by students, government officials passed martial law. Marital law is when military laws and decisions replace civil laws and civil courts. Although students were informed of the new law, 10,000 students remained in the square to have their voices heard about democracy in China.

The picture on the left is the most famous picture taken from the massacre in 1989, becuase it had the most powereful impact to people around the world. This is a picture of a college student who stood strong in front of four tanks.This student was determined to be able to stop the advancement of these tanks into Tiananmen Square with his own body. People all around the world were shocked with the actions made by the student. This comes to show that students stopped at nothing to try to make China a democratic nation. After this demonstration, students called for Deng Xiaoping to resign.

Students also showed their desire for a democratic nation by hunger strikes and building the Goddess of Democracy. In May 1989, 3,000 students staged a hunger strike in Tiananmen Square to show the government they would sacrifice their own lives for freedom. Students also built the Goddess of Democracy as a symbol of democracy. The Chinese built the statue to look like an exact replica of the Statue of Liberty in the Untied States. The Chinese wanted the statue to look the same because it was the government of the United States that the students wanted China to follow.

 

On May 29, 1989, the ceremony of the Goddess of Democracy was held in Tiananmen Sqaure. Students learned of democrcy in the United States when Deng Xiaping passed the Open Door Policy, which allowed traders and new ideas into China. Students believed the United States had the ideal democratic nation, which is why they built the Goddess of Democracy similar to the Staue of Liberty.

People from all over China joined in on the protests. Once the students anoucnceed their protests by using the Daziboas and projectiong their voices about the protests, people of all ages, parents, children and family friends, joined in.

 On June 14, 1989, army forces preceded into the square. Tanks were brought in by the soldiers to move the crowds out of the Square. While protestors rushed out of the path of the tanks, sodliers knocked down the Goddess of Democracy and crushed the statue with their tanks. Soldiers also sprayed qurifine onto the crowds of students and other protestors, leaving thousands injured and hundreds dead.

How Did the United States Respond In the United States, President Bush cancelled all shipments of military ports to China and extended all visas of Chinese student studies in the United States. Bush extended all visas because he knew that no student who entered back into China would be able to continue their studies because of the protests. He also cancelled shipments of military equipment because he wanted to end the fighting between the Chinese soldiers and the protestors.

After the massacre, a student leader said, "The government has won the battle here today. But they have lost the people's hearts." People in China have never healed from the massacre in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Parents of students who were killed during the massacre are still pushing for some type of memorial that will acknowledge the lives lost. today the government in China has not changed. China is still a communist nation in the year of 2000 and is led by Jiang Zemin.

"After Deng." The Economist.1997 URL:http://www.britanica.com/bcom/magazine/article/0,5744,3382.html?query= tiananmen%20square (20 Oct. 2000).

"China." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1997 ed.

"Chronology." Tiananmen Square. 1999 URL: http://www.nmis.org/gate/chronology/ (20 Oct. 2000).

Fairbank, J.K. The Great Chinese Revolution. New York: Harper & Tow, Publishers,1986.

Ferroa, P. Cultures of the World; China. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1991.

Kreiger, Larry S., Kenneth Neill, Steven L. Jantzen. World History; Perspective on the Past. Lexington, MA; D.C. Heath and Company, 1994.

Major, J.S. The Land and People of China. New York: J.B. Lippincott, 1989.

Roberson, J.R. China From Manchu to Mao. New York: Atheneum, 1980.

Roberts, J.A.G. Modern China. Pheonix: Jutton Publishing, 1998.

"Tiananmen Square Demonstration". Discovering World History. 1999. URL: http://www.galenet.com/servlet/SRC/ (17 Oct. 2000).

Worden, R.L. China; A Country Study. New York: First Printing, 1988.

"The Goddess of Democracy." Film Clips, June 4, 1989. 1999. URL: http://www.nmis.org/gate/media/filmclip.html (4 Nov. 2000).

  In these clips, we were able to find two short twenty second clips which showed us the rising and the falling of the Goddess of Democracy. Here, we were able to observe the different emotions of the thousands of protestors and viewers at the rising ceremony and the destruction of the statue. In the rising ceremony, we watched the protestors cheer wtih excitement for their accomplishment of the Goddess of Demcracy. In the clip wtih the tearing down of the statue, we silently observed the cries of depression of the protestors because their motivation of democracy was torn down. These clippings were a clear example of the love and worship the people of China had for the Goddess of Democracy.

"Tiananmen Square, April-June 1989." Pictoral History. 1998. URL: http://www.christusrex.org/ww1/sdc/tiananmen.html (5 Nov. 2000).

  In this primary website, we were able to observe multiple pictures taken during the protest in Tiananmen Square. The website included pictures of soldiers storming into the square, protestors marching down the streets of Beijing into Tiananmen Square, pictures of the Goddess of Democracy, and many images of students that were shot and beaten to death. We used pictures from this website into out own.

 Xiaoping, Deng. "A Speech to Martial Laws Units." Beijing Domestic Television. Service, June 27, 1989, FBIS, June 27 pp. 8-10.

In this site, we found a speech given by Deng Xiaoping about protests and events occuring in Tiananmen Square. He gave his opinion about students protesting and said that students should not get invovled with the government. He also explained his Open Door Policy and how he had not intended for students to go against the existing Chinese government with new ideas which entered into China because of the new policy.