TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE.   Term Paper ID:25456 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Historical & cultural background of 1989 event, political & economic causes & effects, major issues, govt. & student leaders.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Historical & cultural background of 1989 event, political & economic causes & effects, major issues, govt. & student leaders. Paper Introduction: TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE This research paper outlines and discusses the events leading up to the massacre which occurred in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 3-4, 1989, and seeks to explain why it occurred and whether it could have been avoided. The student demonstrations in the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the spring of 1989 reflected tensions between economic and other reforms which had been introduced by the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the preceding decade and the reluctance of party and government elites to share more broadly their shared monopoly on political power. Other specific sources of urban and intellectual discontent as well as deeper historical forces were unleashed by the cataclysmic changes which took place in the PRC during the post-Mao period. A repressive Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Deng. , [and] facilitated the rise to power of Deng andother reformist leaders" (44). Hisgamble worked inasmuch as between 1978 and 1994, China's GDP quadrupled,per capita income increased threefold and exports increased 12 times (Baum,Burying 391). . . Hundreds of demonstrators were killed and thousands wounded.According to the Chinese government, 15 soldiers were killed and 5, wounded (Hsu 934). In early 1987 the CCP launched a majorcampaign against bourgeois liberalization consisting of press censorshipand a ban on certain liberal magazines. New York: Routledge, 1991. . The massacre in Tiananmen Square happened because of the incompletenature of the reforms launched by Deng and his associates and theirunwillingness to share political power, the accumulation of specificgrievances in 1988 and early 1989 and the lack of leadership on either sidewilling to compromise their differences. They were no doubt influenced by recentevents in Eastern Europe where one Soviet bloc country after another hadliberated itself from its former communist rulers. The government used tanks and gunsto crush peaceful protesters" (935). According to Baum, after the 1986 student demonstrations, interviewscommissioned by the Beijing Municipal Party Committee showed that 92percent of graduate students and 62 percent of undergraduates "saw the rootcauses of student unrest to be corrupt party work styles and/or lack ofdemocracy" (Burying 23 ). Reform and Reaction in Post-Mao China: The Road to Tiananmen. It produced a reactionary swingin the composition of the Beijing government; General Secretary ZhaoZiyang, who had argued for a more conciliatory approach to thedemonstrators, and many of his supporters were stripped of their governmentand party positions at the end of June. Zhao Zhiang gave the eulogy for Yaobang. It was, therefore, notsurprising that one of the first demands of the student leaders wasdisclosure of such arrangements. InFebruary Fang was invited by visiting American President George Bush to abanquet at a Beijing hotel, but the police kept Fang away. On June 3, the PLA moved in and crushed the demonstrations in andaround Tiananmen Square. Anyone who had observed Deng inaction should have expected that he would give the orders he in factissued. By mid-May as many as amillion demonstrators were involved, including some workers, journalistsand bystanders. New York: Oxford U P, 199 .Yang, Benjamin. Halpern says that, while in thelong run economic reforms can give rise "to substantial social mobilizationand thence to increased pressures for democratization," one still needs toexamine the specific grievances "stemming from the negative by-products ofreform and from the generally heightened expectations of the urban populace--that helped motivate political activism" among students and other membersof the Chinese intelligentsia in the spring of 1989 (38, 53). . . It is not clear,given Deng's hardened position at that time, that a compromise was thenstill possible, but clearly the student leaders overplayed their hand,which was not so much due to their ideological radicalism as to theirinexperience in dealing with the novel (and heady) situation in which theyfound themselves. 38-59.Hsu, I. Economic reforms produced a widespread pattern ofnepotism, corruption and free-wheeling alliances between government andstate enterprise cadres and others, including foreign and Chineseentrepreneurs, who were interested in making a quick killing and were notaverse to making or receiving payoffs. C. On May 19 Li Peng declared a state of emergency inBeijing. All that is true. As 1989 began, the leading domestic critic of the regime,astrophysicist Fang Li-chih (Fang) sent Deng Xiaoping (Deng) an open letterrequesting that all political prisoners be released, which Deng ignored. Deng was briefed byPremier Li Peng and President Yang Shangkun. . Throughout 1988 and on into 1989, seriousdisagreements existed at senior levels in the government and the CCPconcerning economic policy. They established a monolithic regimededicated to the precepts of Mao Zedong's (Mao's) style of Marxist-Leninism. In all probability less violence would have been necessary and lessblood would have been spilled if the regime had acted sooner. Student demonstrations have traditionally played an important role insymbolizing popular discontent, such as during the Revolution of 1911 andin the demonstrations against Japanese aggressions on the Chinese mainland,like those of July 4, 1919. The pressures which led to the bloody confrontation in TiananmenSquare had been building for some time. Baum comments that hisconciliatory approach seemed to have had "the effect of polarizing thestudent movement undermining its unity and cohesion" and "prompted radicalelements . Had there been the student movementwould not have continued, at least not on such a large scale and for solong" (246). Other specific sources of urban and intellectualdiscontent as well as deeper historical forces were unleashed by thecataclysmic changes which took place in the PRC during the post-Mao period.A repressive outcome was inevitable given the balance of forces in the PRCat the time but the degree of violence and bloodshed involved might havebeen lessened had either the Party and the government on the one hand orthe student movement on the other been more unified. China. Further delays were caused by the regime's need tomake sure of the PLA's loyalty (in view of the fact that some of its troopshad refused to fire on the demonstrators) and to move the necessary armyunits into place. Even, however, during the three decades of Mao's rule, chaoticconditions prevailed for long periods, particularly during the CulturalRevolution of the 196 s and early 197 s, in which alienated youthchallenged party icons. . Throughout his period in power, Deng used what Baum calls "superbbalancing skills . "Then you have nothing," trumped Deng, the consummate bridge player (Burying 258). Deng basically favored more market incentives but did not hew to aconsistent path during this period, thus adding to the confusion anddissension among his top aides: with the economy and society seemingly stalled midwaybetween plan and market, between bureaucrats and entrepreneurs,between shou and fang, China continued to suffer from some of theworst distortions of the old system without enjoying the fullfruits of the new (Baum, Burying 19). After 1979, Deng permitted a significantrelaxation of controls over artistic, literary and other intellectualexpression. According to Baum, Deng gambled that "economic reform would dampenthe people's demand for fundamental political reform" (Burying 3 8). On April 15,former General Secretary Hu Yaobang, who had been dismissed from hisposition in early 1987 for having taken too lax a position toward studentdemonstrations, suddenly died of a heart attack. As Fairbanksputs it, "the aged CCP leaders saw the [Tiananmen Square] movement fordemocracy as an attack on their monopoly on power. Students at BeijingUniversity organized a memorial service to be held in Tiananmen Square onApril 22. According to Baum, the great fear of theauthorities at the time of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations was not somuch the students and other intellectuals themselves, but ratherindications of a "rising groundswell of popular sympathy and support,"including elements of the working class, party officials, retired armyofficers and others (Burying 276). to mollify conservative party elders and relieve thebuildup of antireform pressures . "But I have the people behind me," countered Zhao. 1992.Halpern, Nina P. Baum says that "the continued exemption ofhigh-level malefactors from prosecution was a major source of publicoutrage" at that time (Burying 236). . Such practices appeared to manyChinese students to be backward. . After he assumed power in 1979 as the PRC's "paramount leader," Denginherited a stagnant, backward economy and a rigidly dogmatic, evensuffocating political and administrative structure and party ideology. She says that the succession struggle helpsexplain why a measure of political liberalization, less emphasis on classstruggle and a degree of openness to new ideas within party andintellectual circles "was tolerated and even encouraged by some within theelite" (44). The best authority for that statement is Yang, whosays that as of the time Zhao returned from Korea on April 3 "there was nounity among the communist leadership. Hisaim in introducing administrative and economic reforms, including somedecentralization of authority, the abandonment of collectivizedagriculture, the introduction of market incentives and a degree ofprivatization of industry, including trade and investment interactions withnon-communist societies, was designed to modernize China withoutjeopardizing party control.Baum says that "Deng threw open China's doors to the outside world, settingin motion a process of accelerating socioeconomic development andmodernization . . to follow each new surge of economicreform with an ideological swing back in the direction of Leninistorthodoxy" (Burying 394, 397). The communists' victory in 1949 followed a long period ofwarlordism, war, misrule and disunity. Yet Baum says that"by the late spring of 1989, Deng appeared on the verge of losing hisbiggest gamble, namely, that socioeconomic reform and modernization couldbe achieved without fatally undermining the country's political stability"(Burying 19). Deng reportedly said, "We musttake clearcut and forceful measures to oppose and stop the turmoil" (Baum,Burying 25 ). . Zhao Ziyang who returned from North Korea on April 3 quarreled withLi Peng and urged that student grievances be given consideration. TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE This research paper outlines and discusses the events leading up tothe massacre which occurred in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 3-4,1989, and seeks to explain why it occurred and whether it could have beenavoided. The massacre had profoundlynegative effects on world public opinion. A majority in the Politburo favored taking a hard line with thedemonstrators. According to Halpern, the tinydemocracy movement began in 1978-1978 "by criticizing existing policies andsupporting Deng . Demandsand crowds escalated during Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to Beijing on May 15-18. In the police terror which followed, many moredissidents were rounded up and imprisoned. "I have the army behind me," declared the patriarch. The heroic view is the one expressed by Hsu: "the demonstrations of1989 were a spontaneous and patriotic movement started by young andidealistic students from the bottom up. An April 26 editorial in the People's Daily denounced thedemonstrators as "criminal elements" (Yang 245). [while he] kept the other foot firmly on the politicalbrake" (Burying 351). In the final analysis, China's communist leaders viewed the studentdemonstrations as a threat to their continuation in power. Accordingto Hsu, "decisions were made to clamp down on the student agitation, todeal with them sternly . The conflict between order and chaos is a recurrent theme of Chinesehistory, an authoritarian tradition interspersed with invasions bybarbarians, usually from the North, long periods of peaceful central ruleinterrupted by civil strife, peasant rebellions or other forms of popularunrest. Intellectual freedoms could be easilywithdrawn, as the expulsion from the CCP and job demotion of Fang in 1986for anti-party ideas illustrated. The Rise of Modern China. In 1988-1989, the economy was suffering from inflation, in partbecause Deng had ordered that the prices of many consumer prices bederegulated. It is also true thatthe demonstrations had gotten out of hand to the point where theythreatened the stability of the government. "Economic Reform, Social Mobilization, and Democratization in Post-Mao China." Reform and Reaction in Post-Mao China: The Road to Tiananmen, ed. The reallyhuge crowds began to develop around the time of the Gorbachev visit, whenthe government's hands were more or less tied, but before then it reallywas split among itself. Three thousand students began sit-ins and hunger strikes. Princeton: Princeton U P, 1994.---, ed. Works CitedBaum, Richard. After Zhao made his final offer on May 17,"acceptance was blocked by a minority coalition of hard-line Beijingstudents and students from out of town" (Burying 258). In late April the student demonstrations spread to 23 othercities. Conflict was unavoidable;bloodshed might have been avoided, but that is far from clear. . Important elements of the population, whose well-being wasimproved by these developments, such as the peasantry, the great majorityof workers, almost all civil servants and private entrepreneurs did not infact actively support the students in Tiananmen Square. Baumcalls this cycle of reform and reaction "the letting go (fang) [and]tightened up (shou)" syndromes (Burying 5). By May 16,Baum says that "Deng had already made up his mind to get tough with thestudents" (Burying 256). Close relatives of a number ofsenior party and government leaders were involved. In the interim, large crowds of up to 1 , gathered peacefullythere daily. New York: Routledge, 1991.Fairbanks, John K. Zhao Ziyang and his associates generallyfavored pressing full speed ahead on privatization of inefficient stateenterprises and the creation of further incentives for foreign investorssuch as coastal enterprise zones while Li Peng and his supporters arguedfor more caution in the interests of social stability. The first studentdemands were pressed on the government: a request that freedom of thepress and speech be allowed; increases in the salaries of universityfaculty and student budgets; and publication of the salaries of allgovernment and party leaders and their offspring. Burying Mao: Chinese Politics in the Age of Deng Xiaoping. Those who remained homeenjoyed a degree of freedom and family prosperity which had never beforebeen seen in the Orwellian system of thought control which hadcharacterized the PRC since 1949. Baum recounts the following interchange betweenDeng and Zhao on May 17: In response to Zhao's plea to refrain from imposing martial law, Deng played his high card. The students protested low student budget and faculty salariesand higher rents and food prices. The student demonstrations in the People's Republic of China(PRC) in the spring of 1989 reflected tensions between economic and otherreforms which had been introduced by the Chinese government and the ChineseCommunist Party (CCP) during the preceding decade and the reluctance ofparty and government elites to share more broadly their shared monopoly onpolitical power. Thousands of students studied abroad. Still the regime was hesitant to act. After his return, Zhao at considerable personal and political risk,which ultimately cost him his position, tried to resolve the differencesbetween the student leadership and the government. They had to destroy itbefore it destroyed them" (425). Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 1998.----------------------- 1 One set of frustrations had to do with the declining appeal of theCCP to Chinese intellectuals. The student leaders showed more courage than they did politicalastuteness if they wanted to avoid a slaughter of the innocent, but thenmartyrs rarely think of the consequences of their actions. Zhao Ziyang preferred to temporize. Richard Baum. Cambridge: Harvard U P. On June 3-4, 1989, armored forces of the People's Liberation Army(PLA), including 18 tanks, and supporting local police units, cracked downon student demonstrators and sympathizers assembled in Tiananmen Square inBeijing. and to fight Western liberalism" (876). to adopt an even more intransigent posture vis-a-vis thegovernment" (Burying 254). Deng's biographer, Beijing Professor Benjamen Yang believes that Dengnever quite got over the spectacle of Chinese youth running wild during theCultural Revolution which nearly cost him both his career and his life.Nevertheless, Deng certainly had no real qualms about using the PLA toslaughter innocent people. Deng, who was out of favor during most of the Cultural Revolution,appealed to political unorthodoxy and even used the term "socialistdemocracy" to undermine his opponent during the succession struggle whichfollowed Mao's death in 1976 (and later). Hsu says that in the middle to late 198 s"Western influence was pervasive and growing by the day" (882). The crisis which the regime faced in thespring of 1989 was more difficult and more intense than the one itexperienced after the gigantic student demonstrations in Beijing inDecember 1986, but the government's response was much the same. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.