The Tiananmen Square Massacre
BACKGROUND
In 1989, Chinese college students were unhappy with Chinese politics. Violence in the Chinese government was spreading like wildfire, and the structure of the communistic government was becoming increasingly unstable. The protesting lasted from April 15, 1989, until June 6, 1989. The massacre, however, occurred on June 4. The death of a popular communist Chinese leader, Hu Yaodong, started sparking students to become very rebellious against the government. At this time, students near Tiananmen Square, in Berijing, China, and surrounding cities started publicly protesting. Protesting and anger spread into nearby major cities such as Shanghai. After Chinese people started seeing the valiant effort of the students, they joined in with the protest as well. Believe it or not, the majority of the people protesting were in the Chinese work force, rather than students. The Chinese government started becoming extremely irritated with these civilians, and named that they were becoming threatening to the Chinese government. On June 4, 1989, 50 Chinese assault trucks and 10,000 troops closed in on Tiananmen Square. Civilians were protesting, and the Chinese soldiers opened fire on them. There were at least 1,000 casualties, and 2,600 innocent people that were injured. It was one of the most gruesome displays of government power that had ever happened in China. To justify their attack on the citizens, the government deemed the citizens a "Counter-Revolutionary group." Below is a video of some common misconceptions that people believe to this day about the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
PURPOSE
The reason that civilians were so upset with the central government because of their communistic presence in the country. People were in constant fear of the government, and how they could impact and affect their families. The Chinese people wanted to move towards a capitalistic system of government. After mass protests and disturbance from civilians, the government saw no other way besides a violent intervention in the main space of protesting, Tiananmen Square, to settle the people and make them fear and respect the government. This did work for the government, but instilled a dire sense of fear and hatred against the government.
The reason that civilians were so upset with the central government because of their communistic presence in the country. People were in constant fear of the government, and how they could impact and affect their families. The Chinese people wanted to move towards a capitalistic system of government. After mass protests and disturbance from civilians, the government saw no other way besides a violent intervention in the main space of protesting, Tiananmen Square, to settle the people and make them fear and respect the government. This did work for the government, but instilled a dire sense of fear and hatred against the government.
WHO DID IT?
The Chinese government, which was under Martial Law at the time, ordered as many as 300,000 troops into Tiananmen Square, and surrounding areas of Beijing. This order was called out by Deng Xiaoping, who was a high up ranking officer in the Chinese Government at the time. Xiaoping was an extreme communist, and had extremely violent tendencies After this massacre, because of the outrage of the Chinese people, Xiaoping took over his office of being Chairman of the Central Military Commission. This position is in charge of the actions of the Chinese military, and is something similar to what the American Secretary of State would be in charge of.
The Chinese government, which was under Martial Law at the time, ordered as many as 300,000 troops into Tiananmen Square, and surrounding areas of Beijing. This order was called out by Deng Xiaoping, who was a high up ranking officer in the Chinese Government at the time. Xiaoping was an extreme communist, and had extremely violent tendencies After this massacre, because of the outrage of the Chinese people, Xiaoping took over his office of being Chairman of the Central Military Commission. This position is in charge of the actions of the Chinese military, and is something similar to what the American Secretary of State would be in charge of.
RUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT
The Chinese government had their first visitor in their communistic state on the day of the protest. This was Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev. He was a communist leader, and he was set to visit the Great Hall of the People at the edge of Tiananmen Square. Instead of entering from the front, Gorbachev was forced to enter from the back, which was a huge embarrassment to the strength of the so called communistic Chinese government. China was banking on making Russia a communist ally, and this was a major setback. It made the Chinese government look weak, and partially turned the Russians off from wanting to team up with them.
The Chinese government had their first visitor in their communistic state on the day of the protest. This was Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev. He was a communist leader, and he was set to visit the Great Hall of the People at the edge of Tiananmen Square. Instead of entering from the front, Gorbachev was forced to enter from the back, which was a huge embarrassment to the strength of the so called communistic Chinese government. China was banking on making Russia a communist ally, and this was a major setback. It made the Chinese government look weak, and partially turned the Russians off from wanting to team up with them.
STANDING UP TO A TANK
One of the main events that people remember the Tiananmen Square Massacre is when one single man stood up to three tanks. He personally stood up to them, and even climbed on top of one of the tanks. A video of this heroic act can be found here. It was the dedication and passion of the Chinese citizens that were prevalent in the Tiananmen Square Massacre. This peaceful act against aggression stands up very highly in the Chinese country for the people. No one ever found out who did the heroic act, and to this day the only identification the person has is "Tank Man."
One of the main events that people remember the Tiananmen Square Massacre is when one single man stood up to three tanks. He personally stood up to them, and even climbed on top of one of the tanks. A video of this heroic act can be found here. It was the dedication and passion of the Chinese citizens that were prevalent in the Tiananmen Square Massacre. This peaceful act against aggression stands up very highly in the Chinese country for the people. No one ever found out who did the heroic act, and to this day the only identification the person has is "Tank Man."
MAP
Below is a picture of a map of Tiananmen Square, and where most of the violence happened. As you can see it shows major areas where the majority of people died, and as you can see, most of the killing didn't take place in the square, but all over Beijing as well.
Below is a picture of a map of Tiananmen Square, and where most of the violence happened. As you can see it shows major areas where the majority of people died, and as you can see, most of the killing didn't take place in the square, but all over Beijing as well.
Keating, Joshua. "Tuesday Map: The Beijing Massacre Map." Foreign Policy Tuesday Map The Beijing Massacre Map Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.Shuster, Simon. "5 Things You Should Know About the Tiananmen Square Massacre." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
Library, CNN. "Tiananmen Square Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
MacLeod, Calum. "Chinese Dare Recall Tiananmen Square Massacre."Usatoday.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
Russ Hunter
Library, CNN. "Tiananmen Square Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
MacLeod, Calum. "Chinese Dare Recall Tiananmen Square Massacre."Usatoday.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
Russ Hunter