Tiananmen Square
The troubles surrounding Deng Xiaoping economic juggling act between communism and capitalism would see corruption on the rise and more and more people demanding greater personal freedoms. When Hu Yaobang, a former Communist Party leader and a symbol of democratic reform, died on April 15, 1989, three days later thousands of mourning students march through the capital to Tiananmen Square, calling for a more democratic government.
As the protests grew, so did the debates within the party about what the response should be. That response would be declaring martial law on May 20, before eventually sending in the troops on June 4. And although the state will claim only 241 people died, including military personnel, human rights groups estimated that number should be in the thousands.
Of course, the international community express its outrage and imposed sanctions, but they were quickly forgotten as China’s integration into the global economy to precedence. Since the events in Tiananmen Square, the liberalization of the Chinese economy has continued unabated while the calls for democracy and more civil liberties have been all but silenced.
