Tiananmen Square
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Protests
In the late 1980s, inspired partly by political changes in the Soviet Union under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, many intellectuals, students, and industrial workers in China believed that the time had come for democratic reforms. China has been governed since the 1940s by a Communist, totalitarian government. Pro-democracy protests occurred in 1986 and 1987, but the most important—and violently repressed—was the one that took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Tiananmen Square is a large plaza in Beijing, the capital city of China.
Starting in early May 1989, at least a hundred thousand students and workers occupied the square for one month. They built a large statue representing the "Goddess of Democracy" and issued several documents defining their movement's principles, including a constitution and a declaration of human rights. These documents were influenced by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
"Today, here in the People's Square, the people's Goddess stands tall and announces to the whole world: A consciousness of democracy has awakened among the Chinese people! The new era has begun!” said the art student who made the Goddess of Democracy statue.
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The Chinese government was uncertain how to respond to the nonviolent protesters. The five-man Standing Committee of the Politburo, the top decision-making body in the Chinese government, was deadlocked over whether to use force to end the protest: two were for, two were against, one member did not vote. The head of the Chinese Communist Party, Deng Xiaoping, broke the tie and decided in favor of force.
A single protester is standing in front of tanks as they travel through the square to stop the protesters.
On June 3 and 4, 1989, tanks and foot soldiers drove the protestors from Tiananmen Square. Armored personnel carriers ran over protestors and fired into the crowd, killing hundreds or perhaps thousands and injuring thousands more. Several pro-democracy leaders managed to escape the country, but many participants (accurate numbers are not known) were executed or imprisoned. Three men were arrested for throwing paint at a large outdoor portrait of Mao Zedong, founder of Communist China; all three were sentenced to twenty years in prison.
Chinese officials are covering the portrait of Mao Zedong after the paint was thrown into it.
The political goals expressed in Tiananmen Square have not disappeared from China. In 1998 and 1999, protesters sought to establish a legal opposition party, the China Democracy Party. Its goals were similar to those of the Tiananmen Square protests, including a call for human rights. The China Democracy Party was immediately outlawed. Its members were arrested, and some received prison sentences of up to thirteen years.
Over 25 years later, discussion of the Tiananmen Square incident remains illegal in China. The government's filtering of Internet traffic, for instance, blocks all sites that discuss the protests. In 2004, the Chinese journalist Shi Tao was sentenced to ten years in prison for revealing to foreign Web sites a message from the Chinese government warning newspapers not to report on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.
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Tiananmen Square
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Transcript
Tiananmen Square
Worksheet for activities Use this presentation and the Image analysis below to complete the worksheet provided to you by your teacher.
Click the arrow to start Part 1 of the handout (Who, What, Where, When, Why?)
Click Image Analysis to open Google Slides for Part 2 of your handout
Image Analysis
Video - Click here
Write a cool subtitle
Protests
In the late 1980s, inspired partly by political changes in the Soviet Union under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, many intellectuals, students, and industrial workers in China believed that the time had come for democratic reforms. China has been governed since the 1940s by a Communist, totalitarian government. Pro-democracy protests occurred in 1986 and 1987, but the most important—and violently repressed—was the one that took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Tiananmen Square is a large plaza in Beijing, the capital city of China. Starting in early May 1989, at least a hundred thousand students and workers occupied the square for one month. They built a large statue representing the "Goddess of Democracy" and issued several documents defining their movement's principles, including a constitution and a declaration of human rights. These documents were influenced by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
"Today, here in the People's Square, the people's Goddess stands tall and announces to the whole world: A consciousness of democracy has awakened among the Chinese people! The new era has begun!” said the art student who made the Goddess of Democracy statue.
Use this face to provide more information about a topic.
The Chinese government was uncertain how to respond to the nonviolent protesters. The five-man Standing Committee of the Politburo, the top decision-making body in the Chinese government, was deadlocked over whether to use force to end the protest: two were for, two were against, one member did not vote. The head of the Chinese Communist Party, Deng Xiaoping, broke the tie and decided in favor of force.
A single protester is standing in front of tanks as they travel through the square to stop the protesters.
On June 3 and 4, 1989, tanks and foot soldiers drove the protestors from Tiananmen Square. Armored personnel carriers ran over protestors and fired into the crowd, killing hundreds or perhaps thousands and injuring thousands more. Several pro-democracy leaders managed to escape the country, but many participants (accurate numbers are not known) were executed or imprisoned. Three men were arrested for throwing paint at a large outdoor portrait of Mao Zedong, founder of Communist China; all three were sentenced to twenty years in prison.
Chinese officials are covering the portrait of Mao Zedong after the paint was thrown into it.
The political goals expressed in Tiananmen Square have not disappeared from China. In 1998 and 1999, protesters sought to establish a legal opposition party, the China Democracy Party. Its goals were similar to those of the Tiananmen Square protests, including a call for human rights. The China Democracy Party was immediately outlawed. Its members were arrested, and some received prison sentences of up to thirteen years. Over 25 years later, discussion of the Tiananmen Square incident remains illegal in China. The government's filtering of Internet traffic, for instance, blocks all sites that discuss the protests. In 2004, the Chinese journalist Shi Tao was sentenced to ten years in prison for revealing to foreign Web sites a message from the Chinese government warning newspapers not to report on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.
Click the Home button to begin the Image Analysis