九十八, Summer '89 Protests
The death of a convenience store owner outraged a nation. There were protests in every major city demanding justice for Yuan Jia. People were furious that a father, husband, and veteran was beaten and left for dead. Many protesters demanded greater transparency from the government and more accountability from those who worked for the government. Most of the protests were peaceful. However, on June 12, a police station in Ezhou, the city where Yuan Jia was killed, was bombed. After that there were more violent altercations between police and protesters. These incidents occurred across the country, but they were concentrated in and around Wuhan and Ezhou. Dozens of protesters and one police officer were killed in the week following the police station bombing.
Opponents of the protest tried to connect the protesters to Communists, separatists, and the Enlightened Path. Communists infiltrated the protests very early on, as did the Enlightened Path. President Wang Sheng, after nearly two weeks of silence on the issue, criticized the protesters, saying that they wanted to interfere in the Chinese justice system. Wang would not comment on the death of Yuan Jia, stating that the innocence or guilt of the policemen would be determined by the courts in Ezhou. Minister of Justice Lee Yuan-tsu sent a recommendation to police departments across China, telling them to avoid any and all unnecessary loss of life, and suggested the use of tear gas to disperse protesters if absolutely necessary. Lee had some sympathy for the protesters, being in the pro-democracy faction of the Kuomintang.
(Lee Yuan-Tsu)
The reaction to the protests varied from province to province and city to city. In Hubei, curfews were enforced and the police often used heavy-handed tactics against protesters. Chen Chongguang, a leading figure in the protest movement, was arrested and held without bail. In the Northeast, many of the government officials openly sided with the protesters. Member of the Legislative Yuan Li Ao gave speeches to the protesters. He called on the protesters to not resort to violence, and condemned any Communist infiltrators in the movement. He was positioning himself for a possible presidential run in 1990, even if, as an independent, he had a relatively small base of support. Many protesters and their sympathizers rallied behind Li as a reasonable face for their movement.
(Li Ao)
While very few KMT governors were happy about the protests, Hubei Governor Peng Mengji was the most unwavering enemy the protesters had. He had successfully put down protests without much controversy during his time as governor (which stretched back to the Chen Lifu presidency). But the situation seemed to be spiraling out of his control. There weren’t enough police to control the protesters. By late June, over one hundred protesters were in jail, but that wasn’t enough. Peng Mengji requested the military’s help in order to restore order. This request was granted, and on June 27, the Chinese Army was deployed in Wuhan, Ezhou, and later some other Chinese cities. The military presence helped keep violence to a minimum, and it looked like the protests were starting to die down.
(Peng Mengji)
On July 1, a protester was killed by police in Shanghai. Since Shanghai was an international city, this incident made the international news (while protesters who had been killed in Kanding, Chungking, and Taiyuan over the last few days had not been covered by international media). This led to a new round of protests. Anger was directed towards the police in Shanghai, as well as Mayor Wang Daohan. The protests were back in full force. In Beiping, rock star Tsui Chien organized protests against authoritarianism in China, as by this point the protests had gone far beyond seeking justice for Yuan Jia. He was joined by hundreds of thousands of people, making the Beiping protests the largest in China.
Peng Mengji, Minister of Agriculture Zhang Baoshu, Minister of Economic Affairs Jiang Zemin, General Teng Jie, former Premier Shen Changhuan, Members of the Legislative Yuan Wu Chunqing, Shen Daren, and former Premier Shen Changhuan urged Wang Sheng to stop the protests. They advocated using the military to crack down on protests. They wanted to send the army to clear out the protesters in Beiping and other cities, as well as arrest Li Ao. On July 9, Chinese soldiers fired on recalcitrant protesters in Wuhan, though many soldiers disobeyed orders to open fire. Protesters were killed by the military in Lanzhou, Xi’an, Chengdu and Chungking as well. A man in Xinjiang was shot as part of the war against Uyghur separatism, who is often erroneously connected to the Summer 1989 protests.
(Teng Jie)
General Cheng Wei-yuan was tasked with restoring order to Beiping, and clearing Tiananmen of protesters. Under his command were over 60,000 soldiers and hundreds of tanks. He was ordered to force the protesters to leave. He entered Beiping on the 10th. He sympathized with the protesters, however, and refused to have the men under his command open fire. The hardliners within the KMT called for an immediate court-martial, but this was rejected. Cheng Wei-yuan told Wang Sheng that having his men fire upon the protesters would lead to a civil war. There were other generals and soldiers refusing to fire upon protesters as well. Wang Sheng understood this. In order to calm down tensions, General Cheng reached out to protest leaders for negotiations.
(Cheng Wei-yuan)
The negotiations were opposed by the authoritarian wing of the KMT. Their opposition was undermined by the support of President of the Legislative Yuan Liang Surong and Premier Hau Pei-tsun. Negotiations would take place in August in Beiping. The KMT representatives would be led by Liang Surong and the protesters’ representatives would primarily be led by Li Ao. Liang’s involvement in the negotiations earned him rebukes from many figures in the Kuomintang, but he went forward anyway. It was agreed that there would be more poll watchers for the upcoming elections in November, and that members of parties besides just the Kuomintang would be poll workers. Thus, a fair election was ensured (except in Tibet and the recently returned parts of Xinjiang). There was also an agreement to loosen controls on the media and strengthen free speech protections. These compromises passed the legislative Yuan 579-177. Afterwards, the majority of the protesters went home. There was a general feeling that a major crisis had been averted.
Opponents of the protest tried to connect the protesters to Communists, separatists, and the Enlightened Path. Communists infiltrated the protests very early on, as did the Enlightened Path. President Wang Sheng, after nearly two weeks of silence on the issue, criticized the protesters, saying that they wanted to interfere in the Chinese justice system. Wang would not comment on the death of Yuan Jia, stating that the innocence or guilt of the policemen would be determined by the courts in Ezhou. Minister of Justice Lee Yuan-tsu sent a recommendation to police departments across China, telling them to avoid any and all unnecessary loss of life, and suggested the use of tear gas to disperse protesters if absolutely necessary. Lee had some sympathy for the protesters, being in the pro-democracy faction of the Kuomintang.
(Lee Yuan-Tsu)
The reaction to the protests varied from province to province and city to city. In Hubei, curfews were enforced and the police often used heavy-handed tactics against protesters. Chen Chongguang, a leading figure in the protest movement, was arrested and held without bail. In the Northeast, many of the government officials openly sided with the protesters. Member of the Legislative Yuan Li Ao gave speeches to the protesters. He called on the protesters to not resort to violence, and condemned any Communist infiltrators in the movement. He was positioning himself for a possible presidential run in 1990, even if, as an independent, he had a relatively small base of support. Many protesters and their sympathizers rallied behind Li as a reasonable face for their movement.
(Li Ao)
While very few KMT governors were happy about the protests, Hubei Governor Peng Mengji was the most unwavering enemy the protesters had. He had successfully put down protests without much controversy during his time as governor (which stretched back to the Chen Lifu presidency). But the situation seemed to be spiraling out of his control. There weren’t enough police to control the protesters. By late June, over one hundred protesters were in jail, but that wasn’t enough. Peng Mengji requested the military’s help in order to restore order. This request was granted, and on June 27, the Chinese Army was deployed in Wuhan, Ezhou, and later some other Chinese cities. The military presence helped keep violence to a minimum, and it looked like the protests were starting to die down.
(Peng Mengji)
On July 1, a protester was killed by police in Shanghai. Since Shanghai was an international city, this incident made the international news (while protesters who had been killed in Kanding, Chungking, and Taiyuan over the last few days had not been covered by international media). This led to a new round of protests. Anger was directed towards the police in Shanghai, as well as Mayor Wang Daohan. The protests were back in full force. In Beiping, rock star Tsui Chien organized protests against authoritarianism in China, as by this point the protests had gone far beyond seeking justice for Yuan Jia. He was joined by hundreds of thousands of people, making the Beiping protests the largest in China.
Peng Mengji, Minister of Agriculture Zhang Baoshu, Minister of Economic Affairs Jiang Zemin, General Teng Jie, former Premier Shen Changhuan, Members of the Legislative Yuan Wu Chunqing, Shen Daren, and former Premier Shen Changhuan urged Wang Sheng to stop the protests. They advocated using the military to crack down on protests. They wanted to send the army to clear out the protesters in Beiping and other cities, as well as arrest Li Ao. On July 9, Chinese soldiers fired on recalcitrant protesters in Wuhan, though many soldiers disobeyed orders to open fire. Protesters were killed by the military in Lanzhou, Xi’an, Chengdu and Chungking as well. A man in Xinjiang was shot as part of the war against Uyghur separatism, who is often erroneously connected to the Summer 1989 protests.
(Teng Jie)
General Cheng Wei-yuan was tasked with restoring order to Beiping, and clearing Tiananmen of protesters. Under his command were over 60,000 soldiers and hundreds of tanks. He was ordered to force the protesters to leave. He entered Beiping on the 10th. He sympathized with the protesters, however, and refused to have the men under his command open fire. The hardliners within the KMT called for an immediate court-martial, but this was rejected. Cheng Wei-yuan told Wang Sheng that having his men fire upon the protesters would lead to a civil war. There were other generals and soldiers refusing to fire upon protesters as well. Wang Sheng understood this. In order to calm down tensions, General Cheng reached out to protest leaders for negotiations.
(Cheng Wei-yuan)
The negotiations were opposed by the authoritarian wing of the KMT. Their opposition was undermined by the support of President of the Legislative Yuan Liang Surong and Premier Hau Pei-tsun. Negotiations would take place in August in Beiping. The KMT representatives would be led by Liang Surong and the protesters’ representatives would primarily be led by Li Ao. Liang’s involvement in the negotiations earned him rebukes from many figures in the Kuomintang, but he went forward anyway. It was agreed that there would be more poll watchers for the upcoming elections in November, and that members of parties besides just the Kuomintang would be poll workers. Thus, a fair election was ensured (except in Tibet and the recently returned parts of Xinjiang). There was also an agreement to loosen controls on the media and strengthen free speech protections. These compromises passed the legislative Yuan 579-177. Afterwards, the majority of the protesters went home. There was a general feeling that a major crisis had been averted.
