Explain the main reasons for the outbreak of protests at Tiananmen Square of 1989.
The Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 was an exhibition of support from the civilians of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to go against certain government policies that were in act during the time. This protest is also known as the ’89 Democracy Movement due to the broad support for this student-led crusade from city residents such as civil workers, intellectuals, and public servants which began on the 17th of April, 1989. The incentives for the outbreak of protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989 included the demand for more democracy, freedom of press and speech, and social equality. Students were inspired by Hu Yaobang, who died on the 15th of April, 1989 at which crowds gathered at Tiananmen Square to mourn his death but slowly, it began to increase in size and the students began to take charge and used the large crowd to help support their ideas, making Hu Yaobang’s death the catalyst for this historical demonstration of people-power.
Pandemonium was inevitable as the gathering of support for the movement rose to the millions in numbers. The Chinese government stepped in on the 20th of April as they began to disperse the few thousand that started to gather at the beginnings of the movement. However, some students remained and the police employed brutality in order to remove them from the site. The news of violence quickly spread which enraged the remaining students on campus, swaying the students to join the protests. From the 21st to the 23rd of April, the students began to formally organise what was later named the “Beijing Students’ Autonomous Federation” which acted strongly against the leadership of China by holding boycotts at universities. Near dusk on the 22nd of April, chaotic rioting began and the damages consequently were very serious. Zhao Ziyang who was the third Premier of China at the time reacted by stressing three ways to counter the protesters: discourage...