China is one of the world leaders today. It has been very unpleasant for the leaders of the country's Communist Party for many years to recall and comment on the events that entered national and world history under the name "Tiananmen Square-1989".
Revolution Causes: Version 1
It is rather difficult to clearly understand and define the essence of the processes that led to the emergence of protest moods in the Chinese student society. There are two versions of the reasons.
The essence of the first is that the liberal reforms carried out since 1978 in the Chinese economy and political system have not been completed. Supporters of the continuation of radical changes along the Western European and American lines believed that the logical conclusion of liberalization should have been the gradual removal of the Communist Party of the PRC from total control over the country. The students advocated the strengthening of democracy and the protection of human rights. The USSR and the perestroika undertaken by Soviet President Gorbachev were the benchmark, the model that supporters of this view of China's development supported.
Version 2
Part of Chinese youthtook to Tiananmen Square (1989) to uphold the ideal of China's development advocated by Mao Zedong. They believed that the development of private property, business and other capitalist factors would have a detrimental effect on the development of a great state.
For supporters of these views, democratization was needed as a tool to influence the national government. In their opinion, market reforms could lead to strong unrest and social cataclysms. People were afraid of changes in the traditional Chinese society of peasants and artisans.
The course of events
The events on Tiananmen Square in 1989 took place on the principle of the Maidan in Ukraine:
- a large free area in the Chinese capital was chosen for protests;
- tent camp established;
- there was a certain hierarchy among the participants;
- was financially supported by sponsors from the Communist Party.
The revolution began on April 27, 1989. At first, the protests were not massive, but the total number of participants gradually grew. The social structure of the protesters was heterogeneous. The following segments of the population gathered on the square:
- students;
- factory workers;
- intelligentsia;
- peasants.
In late April and early May, all protests were peaceful. The tent city lived its ordinary life. Of course, the official authorities of the country could not endure this protest action in the capital for a long time. 4 times Communist Party of the People's Republic of Chinaappealed to the people with a request to disperse, but these words were never heard. Unfortunately, the demonstrators made a mistake. It consisted in the fact that they did not comply with the order of the authorities. So many people have paid for disobedience with their lives.
On May 20, a meeting of the leadership of the Communist Party and Beijing was held, at which a decision was made to introduce martial law in the city. At that time, it was already clear to the whole world that an armed dispersal of the action was being prepared. The country's leadership could not make concessions to the protesters, as this could shake the power of the ruling party.
Tiananmen Square (1989) was packed with people. Thousands of protesters expressed the protest mood of Chinese society. On June 3, a military operation began to disperse its citizens. At first, the authorities did not want to use serious weapons, so unarmed soldiers of the National Liberation Army of China tried to enter the square. The protesters did not let them in, so the top decided to use tanks to shoot and disperse the demonstrators.
On the evening of June 3, tanks appeared in the city. They made their way through the barricades. The paramilitary organizations of the protesters entered into an open confrontation with the tank units of the PLA. By destroying the tracks, the vehicles were rendered harmless and then set on fire. About 14-15 tanks were destroyed. Already on June 4, the events on Tiananmen Square (1989) began to develop according to a more cruel scenario:
- shooting of peaceful demonstrators;
- confrontation between people and soldiers;
- pushing people out of the square.
The number of victims of the revolution
An official investigation into the events of 1989 in Beijing has not yet been conducted. All information from Chinese sources is classified.
According to representatives of the State Council of China, the civilian population was not shot at all, but more than 300 soldiers of the Chinese army died. The version of the authorities is quite understandable: the army behaved civilly, and the protesters killed soldiers.
A Hong Kong official told foreign journalists that according to his information about 600 people were killed. But there are even more horrific statistics, which include thousands of victims of the execution in the square. The New York Times published information from Amnesty International. Human rights activists have received information that the number of victims of the June 4 events has reached 1,000 people. The death toll, according to journalist Edward Timperlake, ranges from 4 to 6 thousand people (both among the protesters and among the soldiers). NATO representatives spoke about 7 thousand victims of the tragedy, and the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke about 10,000 people killed.
Tiananmen Square -1989 left a bright bloody trail in world history. Of course, it will never be possible to know the exact number of victims of those clashes.
Consequences
Strange as it may seem, the events of the spring and summer of 1989 had a long-lasting positive effect on the country. The overall strategic and real results are:
- the imposition of sanctions by Western countries wasshort-term;
- strengthened and stabilized the political system of the country, led by the Communist Party of China;
- liberalization and democratization of economic and domestic policies continued;
- economic growth intensified;
- For 25 years, the country has become a strong superstate.
Lessons for the future
All world totalitarian leaders of the 21st century should remember China-1989. Tiananmen Square has become a symbol of the unshakable will of the people to live better. Yes, the people did not have the task of overthrowing the government, but in any other country, protests can have completely different goals. It is worth listening to the people and taking into account their interests in the process of building the economic and social policy of the state. Tiananmen Square in 1989 is a symbol of the struggle of ordinary people for their rights!
