📌 Week 5: Tiananmen Square Movement and Its Legacy (1989)

Question 1

What were the main causes of the Tiananmen protests?

Answer 1

Corruption, inflation, political repression, death of Hu Yaobang.

Question 2

How did the protests escalate in May 1989?

Answer 2

Students held hunger strikes, drew international attention, demanded democracy.

Question 3

How did the CCP respond to the protests?

Answer 3

Declared martial law, used the military to clear Tiananmen Square.

Question 4

What happened on June 3–4, 1989?

Answer 4

PLA fired on protesters, resulting in hundreds (or thousands) of deaths.

Question 5

What was Zhao Ziyang’s role during the protests?

Answer 5

CCP General Secretary, sympathetic to protesters, later purged.

Question 6

What were the international consequences of the crackdown?

Answer 6

Diplomatic isolation: Western governments strongly condemned the crackdown as a human rights violation.
economic sanctions, foreign investor withdrawals. Suspension of high-level government exchanges. Delays in financial loans from institutions like the World Bank and IMF.

Question 7

How did the CCP prevent future uprisings?

Answer 7

Tightened political control: Arrested pro-democracy activists and prevented opposition parties from forming., Tightened laws on protests and free speech, making it illegal to challenge CCP rule. Infiltrated and suppressed underground movements.
Censorship & Media Control Complete CCP control over information flow, Tightly controlled media – No independent newspapers or TV stations. Internet censorship – The “Great Firewall of China” blocks foreign websites (Google, YouTube, Facebook, etc.). Censored discussions on Tiananmen Square – Schools do not teach about the massacre, and references are scrubbed from the internet.
High-Tech Surveillance & Social Control✔ Facial recognition cameras in cities to track people’s movements.
✔ “Social Credit System” – Citizens are monitored and rated on their loyalty to the government.
✔ Cyber police track dissidents and silence critics before they can organize protests.

Question 8

What was the legacy of Tiananmen Square for China’s leadership?

Answer 8

Reinforced the CCP’s authority, prevented political liberalization, emphasized economic stability over democracy.

Question 9

write out the correct order of events for dengs era

Answer 9

cultural revolution, reform phase I, tianamese protest, Dengs Southern Tour, Reform Phase II Socialist Market