Tiananmen Square, 1989

This post is about the famous event of Tiananmen Square, 1989. This was the time when the Chinese Communist Party was still in rule; this leading to protestations of wanting democracy. Although united in their cause, the government was still able to extinguish its opposition; by simply turning non-violent riots into a massacre of innocent hundreds. 1) What methods did the group(s) use to express their frustrations and ultimately lead to a revolution? The protesting group, which consisted of students, intellectuals and labor activists had used numerous ways in order to express their frustration with the current government (the Chinese Communist Party). In order for their views to be heard, they had camped in the square for two weeks, staging hunger strikes, erecting monuments, coming up with slogans, and daily marches. Their man slogans were ‘Law, not Authoritarianism” and “Long Live Democracy”. Their complaints had ranged from minor criticisms to the wanting of democracy. Students started to boycott classes, and held daily marches where they sang ‘The Internationale’; a world socialist anthem. Although they were cheered on by the police, the group was unable to gain an audience with government leaders; despite their gatherings in front of the Zhongnanhai, the residence of the government. 2) How is your revolution similar and/or different to one of the revolutions previously studied? This revolution in certain ways, was similar to the People Power, American and French Revolution. One thing is sure: they had made their thoughts heard. During the People Power Revolution, the Filipinos had stayed and camped out on the streets (EDSA) for three days, and similar to the Tiananmen Square incident, the government had sent troops to disperse the enormous crowd. French women had showed up in the Palace of Versailles during the French Revolution; having a demonstration and demanding for grain. Being united for a single goal, the people had also stormed the Bastille in order to show their support for the National Assembly, which at that time were doing their best to change the old ways. And lastly, during the American Revolution, the Americans had created the famous ‘no taxation without representation’ slogan in demand of changing the Sugar and Stamp Act. The people had also started to group together and formed secret societies; this similar to the students coming together and gathering at Tiananmen Square. Threats, similar to the hunger strikes, were also issued; for the Americans this was stopping all trade with Great Britain. Finally, creating a representation for their cause was another way of expressing their demands an dissatisfaction. In Tiananmen Square, the students had created a ‘Goddess of Democracy’, while the Americans made the Declaration of Independence. 3) What was the eventual outcome of the revolution, an did the nation/people become better due to the revolution? The outcome was that all the protestations were put down by the government as the Chinese Communist Party had decided to use hard force in order to stop all the revolts. The government had decided to send in army troops; this including tanks, soldiers and the use of weapons. Tear gas was used, and soldiers began shooting off in all directions, perhaps even wounding their own. The student revolters apparently were unarmed, despite their efforts on using vehicles to block the assault of the army. Students who tried to leave Tiananmen Square were beaten by the soldiers and people who tried to hide within the buses were dragged out. Eventually the square was cleared, and all of the leaders in the revolt were jailed. To put it simply, the revolution was unsuccessful despite how united the protesters were in their cause. After the government had stopped the demonstrations by killing all who stood in their way, fear broke out and this resulted to the breakdown of all the student organizations; causing infighting among themselves. 4) Was the revolution justified? Would other methods have worked? The revolution was in ways justified as the students or intellectuals were concerned that the Chinese Communist Party were still in control, and despite the new reforms, they thought it was not enough. People believed that in order to change, China's political and social system would have to convert; most thought it was better to have the government change into a democracy. The event that had sparked the revolts however was the death of Hu Yaobang, who was an outspoken member of the Chinese Communist Party. Other methods would not have worked as the government had control of the military. Unless the revolutionists had their own army, they would not have been able to change the government using demonstrations to show their dissatisfaction. The revolutionists tried using other methods like negotiating with the government. They filed six appeals to the Chinese Communist Party but the results were disappointing. The government criticized them afterwards in an editorial in the people's daily paper on April 26; the revolutionists being accused of causing turmoil which lead to the situation eventually becoming worse. 5) Briefly state whether or not your revolution follows Crane Brinton’s Stages of a Revolution. This 'mini' revolution does fit the first phase of Brinton Crane's Analogy; the Symptoms. The middle class, which would be described as the students, intellectuals, and labor activists do indeed 'loudly expresses their anger' towards the government. This 'anger' could be shown in the numerous riots, strikes, demonstrations, marches, and even monuments all held on Tiananmen Square. The ruling party, or the Chinese Communist Party is indeed deserted by the intellectuals who join in on protesting against the government. The 'rising fever', 'crisis', and 'convalescence' do not fit the event in Tiananmen Square as eventually the protesters were overthrown by force. Many were jailed and some killed in order to be controlled. Usually, during the 'rising fever' stage, the government is unable to repress the rebellions and the moderates then forms a new government. In Tiananmen Square however, it is clearly shown that the government, or Chinese Communist Party, was able to take down the rebels when the revolution was only at the first stage. The 'crisis' and 'convalescence' phases definitely did not happen, as the opposition of the current government was extinguished. Bibliography "The Declassified History ." Tiananmen Square, 1989 . 17 Jan 2008 . Holt, Jennifer. "TIANANMEN SQUARE." The Museum of Broadcast Communications. 17 Jan 2008 . "Tiananmen Square." China's Communist Revolution . BBC News. 17 Jan 2008 . "Tiananmen Square protests of 1989." Wikipedia. 15 January 2008. Wikipedia. 17 Jan 2008 . By Caitlin Coyiuto and Monica Seet