Tiananmen Square Protests
By: Tyler Zachek and Hilary
Hamilton
Background Info
Deng Xiaoping, China’s ruler sent many
Chinese students to foreign universities to
improve China’s economy and to gain
capitalist values.
Instead of gaining a sense of capitalist values,
the students picked up democracy ideals and
other western ideologies.
The Protest
The students gathered at Tiananmen
Square in Beijing, China to take part in
pro- democracy demonstrations.
Then there was a large military
crackdown because Deng Xiaoping
didn’t want the communist government
to be threatened or influenced by
democratic ideals.
The Massacre
It happened on June 4, 1989.
There was a large number of military
soldiers, vehicles, and tanks that were
brought in to stop the protests.
Casualties
There were many different ranges of tolls
200- 300 (Chinese Government)
400- 800 (The New York Times)
2,000- 3,000 (Chinese student associations
and The Red Cross)
No exact statistics for death tolls were given
There can be different biases seen here.
Tank Man
His identity is unknown. He stood in front of a
line of tanks to stop them from moving
forward. The convoy tried, to move around
him, but the Tank Man kept moving in front of
them.
It was said that he climbed up on the leading
tank and talked to the driver. He was
believed to have asked why the tanks were
there, and that they were harming the city.
Tiananmen Square Massacre
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Sources
BBC News
Video.google.com
Traditions and Encounters- Bentley