What caused the massacre of protesters in China's Tiananmen Square in 1989?
1 Answer
The communist party deemed the protests against government policies as a political threat, and took military action.
Explanation:
"Hu Yaobang had been an influential Party official, a former CPC (People's Republic of China) General secretary. His liberated ideas caused him to be deposed from his party, but his dreams and concepts of freedom of speech and freedom of press held considerable sway over the students and young people of China. After he died, up to 100,000 students gathered at Tiananmen Square on 21 April 1989 to honour Hu's memory and protest against the autocratic communist government ruling China, demaning to meet with Premier Li Peng. When their demands were denied, students boycotted the universities, marching to Tiananmen Square and calling for democratic reforms, spilling over into the surrounding streets as well."
The Communist Party took the protests in Tiananmen Square to be a political threat towards them, and then mobilized 300,000 troops to counter the threat. Due to the ensuing riots, Martial law was declared in Beijing in May, and on 3 June, troops and tanks were deployed to retake the square. Thousands of people were killed, and afterward the Chinese government suppressed the domestic press and media, and expelled foreign reporters from China.
A number of protestors, including senior officials, were arrested and executed in the subsequent months. The incident sparked international condemnation of China, and harsh economic sanctions were imposed on China until some of those who were arrested were released.
