Top 5 Facts About the Tiananmen Square Protests
Known as the "Gate of Heavenly Peace," Tiananmen Square became the center of turmoil as tension mounted between demonstrators and the Chinese government. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts. In today's instalment, we'll be giving you five fascinating facts about a famous historic event: the Tiananmen Square protests that took place during the spring of 1989.
Special thanks to our users Christo for submitting the idea using our interactive suggestion tool at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest
Top 5 Facts About the Tiananmen Square Protests
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Known as the “Gate of Heavenly Peace,” Tiananmen Square became the center of turmoil as tension mounted between demonstrators and the Chinese government. Welcome to WatchMojo’s Top 5 Facts. In today’s instalment, we’ll be giving you five fascinating facts about a famous historic event: the Tiananmen Square protests that took place during the spring of 1989.
#5: The Protests Started as a Memorial
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Known for his liberal opinions and for being reform-minded, Hu Yaobang was once the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. He was forced to resign by military officials in 1987, but remained a member of the Politburo until his death in April 1989. Hu’s ideas of modernization resonated with young people, and the day following his death, thousands of university students assembled at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to demand democratic reform in his memory. Week after week, thousands more joined the march on Tiananmen Square until the crowds grew to more than one million people.
#4: Mikhail Gorbachev’s Visit Complicated the Situation
Unfortunately for the Chinese government, the protests coincided with an important visit from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who was there to improve relations with China. It also happened to be the first time in 30 years that China would be receiving a visit from a leader of the Soviet Union. When it came time to host the banquet in Great Hall of the People, Gorbachev had to enter through the back entrance because of the overwhelming protests, resulting in embarrassment for Chinese government officials. Although the declaration of martial law on May 20 meant strict control over media coverage of the demonstrations, as journalists from all around the world were already on location to cover the visit, they ended up staying to report on what ended up being the much larger story.
#3: The Exact Death Toll Is Unknown
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In China, the protests are referred to as the June Fourth Incident because on that day, at least 10,000 troops were sent to clear the streets on tanks and open fire into the crowds, killing demonstrators who had been occupying the square for close to seven weeks. Some protesters fought back, throwing Molotov cocktails and, in one reported case, beat two soldiers to death. After the crackdown, as many as 10,000 demonstrators were arrested. Estimates on the death toll range from several hundred to several thousand, but since no government record was ever officially released, we don’t know the exact number of casualties.
#2: No One Knows Who “Tank Man” Really Is
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The most iconic image to come out of the Tiananmen Square protests is the young man who blocked a row of tanks and climbed on top of one: aka, the Tank Man. But whatever happened to him after that act of defiance is really anyone’s guess. Some say he was pulled back into the crowd of protesters and got away safely; others claim he was immediately arrested, and later executed. However, when General Secretary Jiang Zemin, who came to power just weeks after the crackdown, was asked about what became of “Tank Man” in an interview with Barbara Walters, and years later with Mike Wallace, he said that the unidentified man had not been executed. Although there’s been plenty of speculation regarding his identity, there’s never been any confirmation, nor do we know whether or not he’s still alive.
#1: Chinese Censors Want People to Forget This Happened
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Based on various reports and documentaries, it seems that most of China’s younger generation has never seen images of Tank Man, or at least avoid admitting they have. This is likely because the Chinese government goes to great lengths to not only make sure citizens don’t commemorate the Tiananmen protests, but to ensure that people don’t actually know it happened. Since books, TV, movies, and the Internet are all under tight control, as well as the fact that the events are banned from being publicly discussed, the protests have essentially been erased from all forms of media. In 2012, the China Digital Times found over 100 search terms that the country blocked around the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, including “democracy,” “memorial event,” and “commemorate.” Ahead of the crackdown’s 25th anniversary, the government took even more extreme censorship measures, by blocking Google services altogether. So, had you ever seen that footage of Tank Man? What did you find the most surprising about the Tiananmen Square protests? For more historical Top 10s and rebellious Top 5s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
