Name _______________________________________ Period ___________ Date _________________
The Events at Tiananmen Square
Define totalitarian:
“Student Uprising and the Tiananmen Square Massacre”
In December 1986, many Chinese university students began demanding increased freedom of speech
and a greater voice in the selection of officials. Students held demonstrations in a number of cities to
promote their demands. In January 1987, liberal Hu Yaobang was removed from his post of Communist
Party general secretary. Conservative leaders had criticized Hu for his more open views on freedom of
expression and political reform.
A more conservative Zhao Ziyang became acting general secretary of the Communist Party. He also
remained its premier. In November 1987, Zhao became general secretary. He was premier until
November, when Li Peng became acting premier. Li became premier in April 1988.
Hu Yaobang died in April 1989. University students held marches to honor Hu and mourn his death.
They called for a reevaluation of Hu by the country's leaders. These events led to large demonstrations
by students and other citizens in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and on the streets of other Chinese cities.
The protesters called for more democracy in China and an end to corruption in government. The military
crushed the demonstrations and killed hundreds of protesters.
The government later arrested many people suspected of involvement in the pro-democracy movement.
The government executed a number of those arrested. In addition, the Communist Party dismissed Zhao
Ziyang from his post for not doing more to suppress the pro-democracy movement. Jiang Zemin
replaced Zhao as general secretary.
Source: Dirlik, Arif. "Deng Xiaoping." World Book Online Reference Center. 2008. [MVHS.] 7 Nov. 2008
<http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar154290>.
1. When did the first set of protests occur?
2. Who was involved?
3. What event sparked “large demonstrations?” Why was this event significant?
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4. What was the common goal between the first set of protestors and the large demonstrations?
5. What was the result of the “large demonstrations?” How did they end?
News Clip: BBC News - June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square Massacre
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJBnHMpHGRY
FYI: Peking = Beijing
6.
Describe what you see during the news clip
7. What was the world’s view of the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989?
Tiananmen Square Then and Now Power Point
8. What event in China’s history did the events at Tiananmen Square remind the government of?
9. How are the two events similar?
10. How are they different?
11. Why would this be a concern for the government?
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China’s lack of political freedoms
Since the Communist Party gained power in China and established the People’s Republic of China in
1949, authoritarian rule has been the norm. (Authoritarian rule favors absolute obedience to authority,
usually against individual freedom.)
Around the late 1970s, as the first generation of Communist Party leaders were replaced by a second,
some reforms provided a foundation of rapid economic development (it is now an economic
superpower). The political reforms away from authoritarian rule has remained elusive. For example, the
government continues to exert its absolute control over politics, and is often looks to eradicate domestic
“threats” to stability of the country through excessive use of force and authority.
Imprisonment of political opponents and journalists critical of the government has been common. The
press is tightly regulated as is religion. Suppression of independence/secessionist movements is often
heavy-handed, to say the least. For example, months of campaigning by students and others for more
democratic rights and freedom of speech culminated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, a violent
crackdown by the Chinese military with 15 days of martial law. The after-effects also resulted in
government crackdown of sympathizers. For example, foreign media were banned for a while, local
media were strictly monitored and controlled, and Communist Party members who sympathized with the
protesters were placed under house arrest.
Interestingly, around the time of that massacre, Western opinion turned against China and has had an
effect to this day when it comes to discussions of China’s human rights situation. There is tremendous
commercial interest by outsiders with China, and some of that may explain the economic-friendly-butpolitically-neutral-or-weak front that many Western countries and their businesses have with China.
Source: http://www.globalissues.org/article/144/china-and-human-rights
12. What is authoritarian rule?
13. How does the government exert its absolute control over politics?
14. What two aspects of society are “tightly regulated”?
15. What were students campaigning for in Tiananmen Square in 1989?
16. How does the article describe the United States’ current relationship with China?
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Amnesty International: China Human Rights
Amnesty International has documented widespread human rights violations in China. An estimated
500,000 people are currently enduring punitive detention without charge or trial, and millions are unable
to access the legal system to seek redress for their grievances. Harassment, surveillance, house arrest,
and imprisonment of human rights defenders are on the rise, and censorship of the Internet and other
media has grown.
Detention Without Trial - The authorities frequently used administrative punishments, including Reeducation through Labour (RTL), to detain people without trial. According to the government, 190,000
people were held in RTL facilities, down from half a million several years ago, although the real figures
were likely to be much higher. Former RTL prisoners reported that Falun Gong constituted one of the
largest groups of prisoners, and political activists, petitioners and others practicing their religion outside
permitted bounds were common targets. The authorities used a variety of illegal forms of detention,
including "black jails", "legal education classes", "study classes" and mental health institutions to detain
thousands of people.
Death Penalty - China continued to make extensive use of the death penalty, including for non-violent
crimes. The death sentence continued to be imposed after unfair trials. Statistics on death sentences and
executions remained classified as state secrets and, while executions numbered in the thousands, the
government did not release actual figures.
Freedom of Expression - As the internet was increasingly used to disseminate news and conduct debates,
the authorities tried to control its use by restricting news reporting and shutting down publications and
internet sites, including ones that "slandered the country's political system", "distorted the history of the
Party", "publicized Falun Gong and other evil cults", and "incited ethnic splittism". The government
blocked access to content and recorded individuals' activities through new filtering software such as
Blue Shield.
Source: http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/china
17. Summarize the human rights violations the article discusses:
18. Do you think people in the United States should care about the human rights violations going on in
China? Explain your answer in detail. It is YOUR OPINION, but EXPLAIN IT!
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Student Uprisings and
the Tiananmen Square Massacre
In December 1986, many Chinese university students began demanding increased freedom of
speech and a greater voice in the selection of officials. Students held demonstrations in a
number of cities to promote their demands. In January 1987, liberal Hu Yaobang was removed
from his post of Communist Party general secretary. Conservative leaders had criticized Hu for
his more open views on freedom of expression and political reform.
A more conservative Zhao Ziyang became acting general secretary of the Communist Party.
He also remained its premier. In November 1987, Zhao became general secretary. He was
premier until November, when Li Peng became acting premier. Li became premier in April
198.
Hu Yaobang died in April 1989. University students held marches to honor Hu and mourn his
death. They called for a reevaluation of Hu by the country's leaders. These events led to large
demonstrations by students and other citizens in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and on the
streets of other Chinese cities. The protesters called for more democracy in China and an end
to corruption in government. The military crushed the demonstrations and killed hundreds of
protesters.
The government later arrested many people suspected of involvement in the pro-democracy
movement. The government executed a number of those arrested. In addition, the Communist
Party dismissed Zhao Ziyang from his post for not doing more to suppress the pro-democracy
movement. Jiang Zemin replaced Zhao as general secretary.
Source: Dirlik, Arif. "Deng Xiaoping." World Book Online Reference Center. 2008. [MVHS.] 7 Nov.
2008 <http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar154290>.
News Clip: BBC News - June 4, 1989,
Tiananmen Square Massacre
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJBnHMpHGRY
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Name _________Answer Key___________ Period ___________ Date ______________
“Student Uprising and the Tiananmen Square Massacre” Article Questions
1. When did the first set of protests occur?
December 1986
2. Who was involved?
Chinese university students,
3. What event sparked “large demonstrations?” Why was this event significant?
Death of Hu; Hu was a supporter of democracy and increased freedoms
4. What was the common goal between the first set of protestors and the large
demonstrations?
Freedom of speech and more democracy
5. What was the result of the “large demonstrations?” How did they end?
The demonstrations failed; People were arrested and some were killed in the
demonstrations by the military
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Name ______________________________ Period ___________ Date ______________
“10 Years After Tiananmen, Questions Remain” Article Questions
1. Why is the square itself significant?
2. When did these events occur?
3. What sparked the student movement?
4. What did the students want?
5. Who was the man who stood in front of the tanks?
6. Was there a massacre in the square?
7. When did the bulk of the killing occur? Who was killed? How many were killed?
8. Why was this event significant?
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