The Massacre at Tiananmen Square

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The Massacre at Tiananmen Square

The protests in China during 1989 were for a good cause, but were ended in the worst possible way. Mao Zedong brought Communism into china with violence and even after his death, with a new leader, the violence continued. The Chinese Government made a huge mistake by using force to end a peaceful protest.

“After the 1912 revolution, two groups began to compete for the leadership of China. One group, the Nationalists, was led by Chiang Kai-shek while Mao Zedong was the head of the second group, the Communists. At first, these two groups worked together to unify China. But in the 1920s, Chiang broke with the Communists and declared war on them.”(Civil War: Chiang vs. Mao). Both groups fought each other relentlessly only unifying to fight the Japanese in World War II, but began fighting each other again soon after the defeat of Japan. The Communists won by capturing the hearts of the Chinese people. The Nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan after the Communists gained control of their capitol city. After several failed programs and plans for a better China and the death of more than 10 million people, Mao dies in 1976.

Deng Xiaoping came to power in 1978. In the same year Deng announced a new program called The Four Modernizations, which later proved more successful than Mao’s. In April of 1989 students began protesting the Chinese government for demoting Hu Yaobang, a trusted and loved Political Official who fought for reform. The students demanded Hu be given a higher place in the government, and end to press censorship, and better education. For the next month protests continue and the amount of protestors increases. Tiananmen Square is the main focus point for the student protestors. ...

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...sition in front, but was soon carried away by a group of citizens trying to get him out of harm’s way (Simmie 195). The June 4th Incident is considered a great failure in China today, and is not taught in schools or even mention. The most recent time it has been brought to the attention of the world is before and during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Since 1989 there has not been any major protest in China. “The Banners, the tents, the hopes were all gone. There would be no civil war, no avenging army, and no democracy” (Simmie 197)

The killing of people by their own government should never happen. The Chinese Government should take full responsibility for their acts against the peaceful protests in 1989. They destroyed the trust of their youth, and the world around them. They made a horrible mistake that should be remembered by all, so that it may never happen again.

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