Students and supporters were enraged by the government’s response and the protests continued to escalate. Calls for democratic reform were continual themes among the protesters and, despite a lack of leadership or organization, their point was clear to the public.
May 13 marked a visit by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Huge groups of students occupied Tiananmen Square, staging a hunger strike with the intent of forcing government officials to begin talking. On May 19, General Secretary Zhao Ziyang approached the students in the Square and urged them to end the hunger strike. Dialogue between students and government officials began, in part somewhat urged on by the presence of foreign media due to Gorbachev’s visit. On May 30, the Goddess of Democracy statue was erected in the Square as a symbol of the protesters.
The government reaction to the protests was mixed. Some favoured a direct approach to end the protests immediately, while others identified with what the students wanted. The protests were seen as express opposition to the Communist State and a menace to the ruling Politburo. The pandemonium of the Cultural Revolution was to be avoided, so a single-party system was to be maintained at all costs.
As the demonstrations continued and the hunger strike went into overdrive, the government sent the military into Beijing to break up the protests and restore “order.”
General Secretary Zhao Ziyang was ousted from his leadership position and soldiers and tanks roared into the city, initially blocked by protesters and citizens. Vehicles were burned and used as roadblocks, while some elements of the military assumed full combat defensive postures against the protesters. The People’s Liberation Army attempted to clear streets using tear gas, rifles, and tanks. Students in the Square began to debate whether or not to withdraw peacefully as the military offensive raged onward.
The military assault on Tiananmen Square began on June 3 at 10:30 pm.
Armoured personnel carriers and armed troops entered the Square from a range of positions, firing indiscriminately, according to eyewitnesses. Soldiers fired weapons into crowds and beat students with sticks, even capturing some attempting to leave the Square and beating them. Tanks entered the Square on the early morning of June 4, crushing people and vehicles.
By 5:40 am on June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square had been cleared of protesters.
Today, we remember the events of Tiananmen Square because of the ineradicable images. Photographs and video of the Unknown Rebel, the unidentified man who stood in front of a line of Chinese tanks following the massacre, remain among the most well-known images in world history.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Baronius
Thanks for writing this article.
2 - Jeannie Danna
Hi Thought you might like this great article and so many interesting links I had to pull my way back out so I could write to you...:) I heard once that tank man either died or was in prison. I don't want to believe this.:(
3 - El Bicho
Nice piece, Jordan. Regrettably too many people would rather have nice, cheap things rather than stand up and sacrifice for their fellow human beings.
4 - Dr Dreadful
Like computers made in China.
5 - Jordan Richardson
I don't know what happened to Tank Man, Jeannie. There are a few theories and rumours, but nothing substantial. I think he was whisked away by Chinese police pretty quickly after his heroic act. Some say he was immediately executed.
Whatever happened to him, he remains a symbol for heroism and bravery. Watching that video gave me chills.
6 - Clavos
Regrettably too many people would rather have nice, cheap things rather than stand up and sacrifice for their fellow human beings.
Including every last one of our craven politicians.
7 - Baronius
But how exactly can I stand up for the people of China? I avoid Chinese goods whenever possible. What that usually means is, I'll put something back on the shelf and try to find it at another store, but if it's something I need I'll buy it at store #2. Whoop-de-doo. That'll change the world.
I support candidates who talk about human rights, and that's something, but the Chinese government is so evil (and big and distant) that there's not much I can do. Jordan did the most important thing, putting this article on the internet. If it sneaks past totalitarian Google, then it will let the Chinese people know: we remember; the people of the West will do what we can.
8 - roger nowosielski
Very good points, Baronius. I, too, avoid Chinese goods like a plague. Practically everything that Wal-Mart carries these days is made in China. Yet, people keep on swarming there like there was no tomorrow.
Unfortunately, we do seem to need China to get out from under the hole we've dug out for ourselves. That's the purpose of, is it Geithner? recent visit.
9 - Jeannie Danna
We should all be tank man! Stand up to corporate America and stay the hell out of Wal-Mart! They stopped buying American products ages ago. Of course I'm not referring to Amazon.com :)
10 - Jordan Richardson
I get that it doesn't seem like there's much a single person can do, but when there are lots of "single persons" operating in similar fashion I think it can make a difference.
I think real change happens slowly and sometimes quietly in the hearts and minds of our children and of their children's children. If they see us refusing to act simply because we don't think it'll make a difference, they won't act. And if they won't act...well, you get the picture.
It is a matter of, like B said, doing what we can when we can do it. We must never be discouraged to act, we must never stop striving to do more.
Personally my wife and I boycott Wal-Mart and most box stores as much as we can. We don't purchase Chinese goods (we buy local whenever we can) and we attempt to learn as much as possible and continue the spread of dialogue. It's easy to allow ourselves and others to fall into the trap of hopelessness and to feel like our actions, small as they are, are just a drop in a bucket.
But sometimes a drop at a time is the only way to fill that bucket, I guess (cheesy as it sounds), and there's no way I'd ever stop trying to do more, to do better.
11 - Jeannie Danna
Yes, I know what your saying every little step helps even if it's only one or two people at first we are all basically like sheep, no offense to sheep, but we do what we see others do. I started carrying my own shopping bags about six months ago,we are really behind the times around here, and people looked at me like I was a cyclops! Now, I see bags for sale in the stores and other people bringing in their own..:)
12 - roger nowosielski
Well, Jordan. I happen to be stuck in Hopkinsville, KY (Christian County) - a rural town - and Wal-Mart is the greatest operating concern. It had practically driven all small and local retailers out of business, made downtown and Main Street into a ghost town - with the result that apart from one Starbucks, it's the town's "cultural center."
Doesn't say much for that part of KY.
13 - roger nowosielski
BTW, Jeannie & Jordan,
Heard something interesting the other day -
Acting out/on your value system is a form of prayer.
14 - roger nowosielski
#11,
Good point, Jeannie. But what can we do about the incorrigibles on the BC Politics site?
15 - Jeannie Danna
I have this little saying that only seems to make sense to me. Do you want to hear it? Well here it goes.
"You are only as free as your country is strong."
This means that not only do you need laws, but you need to make those laws to look out for the individual as well as the whole. Not the special interest groups or the wealthiest party.
16 - roger nowosielski
Great point again.
And you might add that the country is as weak as its weakest link, no?
17 - Jeannie Danna
I heard Ron Paul the other night wanting to dis-ban everything and get rid of the government. Ha! No department of Agriculture. Want some E-coli? No department of Education. We've seen the cretins here that slipped through the cracks. Give me a break!
18 - Jeannie Danna
Roger! you remember.
19 - Jeannie Danna
Is Jordan typing a long answer or has he left his own thread?
20 - Jeannie Danna
Roger, I read your article and left a comment...
21 - roger nowosielski
I'm aware, Jeannie. The reason I didn't respond because I don't want to antagonize you. What I did there was a thought-experiment of sorts?
What did you mean by "you remember"?
22 - roger nowosielski
Also, could you explain your #17 better. I'm not certain I'm getting your point.
23 - Clavos
But what can we do about the incorrigibles on the BC Politics site?
Mind your own fuckin' business?
24 - roger nowosielski
Why a question mark?
25 - Clavos
I'm open to suggestions?