Justin Sun

Period

June 4th, 1989

Why is the Tiananmen Square Protest not successful? What really happened on June 4th,
1989? The Tiananmen Square Protest took place on June 4, 1989, it was a time when China
was advancing at an amazing pace and was becoming one of the strongest nations under the
leadership of Deng Xiaoping. Deng promoted economic freedom in China, private ownerships
were allowed in order to quickly build up Chinas economic system. This partially free society lid
up the students hope to make China into a complete democratic nation. The students rallied up
in front of the Tiananmen Square and protested. The song June 4, 1989 is about what
happened that day in Beijing on the Tiananmen Square. It mentions the disaster and massacre
that occurred and so we can remember this day.
On June 4th 1989, the PLA(Peoples Liberation Army) entered the Tiananmen Square with
tanks and advanced weapons to clear the area. So why was the chinese government so violent
and how did the rebellion start? Since the death of Mao, once Chinas greatest leader, China
has been in ruins. Its economy was shattered due to Maos meaningless revolutions and more
than 90% of the chinese population was in extreme poverty.Just at the right time, came a leader
called Deng Xiaoping. He is significantly different from Mao, he promoted economic freedom,
and his reform policies help lift 170 million chinese out of extreme policies. Deng disagreed with
many of Maos ideas, he believed the only way to make China strong is by going through
Industrial Revolution. As peoples lives were more stable and education system was reinstalled,
young adults started going back to college. In college, they learned about the European and
American life style, how they have a democratic government and their voices in their

government. The students wanted something, but they never did anything because they are too
afraid of the harsh chinese government. Right at this time, a governor called Hu Yaobang
played a very important role as the spark of the Tiananmen Square Protest. He was a party
general secretary, he was ordered to take care of the protesters in Beijing with military force. Hu
Yaobang, different from Deng, had a relatively more liberal view, he felt sympathetic for the
students and the workers, so he did not order the military to clear the Tiananmen Square, he
knew if he did many would die. Deng was not happy by this and soon he had Hu executed. This
sparked the students and workers, their protest soon turned from justice for Hu into a demand
for democracy. The Tiananmen Square Protests: April 15June 4, 1989 1 March, 2016. World
History in Context. http://ic.galegroup.com June 4th 1989 was a reamrkable day, the tanks rolled
through everything in its way and countless lives were lost. By the midnight of June 3rd 1989,
the protesters agreed to leave the square peacefully. But in the early morning on June 4th 1989,
the army began to open fire on the protesters, these unarmed protesters had no way to fight
back so many died. CBS reporters tried to film something and take it back the U.S.A, but the
reporters were beaten by the PLA and their equipments, including their cameras and filming
devices were all smashed. The only film that escaped the chinese government was the Tank
Man video and photo, which is accepted as one of the most influential photo in the 20th century.
Tiananmen Square Protests of June 1989 1 March, 1989 , World History in Context.
http://ic.galegroup.com
The photo is taken by Jeff Widener, by which time he was tasked to film the crackdown on
Tiananmen Square on June 5th, 1989. Prior to the filming of the tank man, Jeff Widener was hit
in the head with a stray rock in the night of June 3rd, 1989. On June 5th, the morning after the
PLA has suppressed the protesters with military force, he was trying to film the scene. The only
spot where the scene can be seen was from the Beijing Hotel, which was guarded by the army.
His friend Kirk Martsen helped him to secretly get in the hotel and Jeff was filming on the sixth
floor balcony. During the time, Jeff was still recovering from wound of June 3rd and he was sick

from a flu. When he ran out of film, his friend Kirk Martsen ran out to get more film and came
back right on time, the tank man video was filmed using this film brought to him by Kirk Martsen.
Jeff then was too afraid to carry the film on him since the army would check him and most likely
find the film. He hid the film in the hotel he was in and came back later to find it, luckily the film
was still there and the film was able to be brought abroad. Jeff Widener worried that the film
would be low quality since he was sick, injured and his equipments werent all there.
Regardless, the photo of the tank man quickly spread across the world and was then widely
accepted as one of the most iconic image of the 20th century.Jiang also introduced his Three
Represents to the Sixteenth Party Congress in 2002; this policy signaled that the party would
welcome members from the bourgeoisie, thereby eliminating political controls based on ones
class background. Although the Tiananmen Square Protest left the chinese people hopeless to
bring democracy, the chinese government has taken in some of the democratic ideas, they have
allowed normal peasants to be part of the chinese government ruling class. Political Control
Since 1949 3/31/16 Gale World History In Context ic.galegroup.com In addition to the
economy, the party also relaxed control over religion. In 1982 the party issued a directive
(Document 19) granting protection of freedom of religious belief. The reasoning behind the
directive held that, though belief in religion would eventually disappear when a genuine socialist
state was achieved, stamping it out before that was achieved, as attempted during the Cultural
Revolution, was unfeasible. This is a direct quote from an online article about the chinese
government after the reforms. With more freedom to religions, the chinese believers in
christianity can finally publicly spread the idea of God and the Bible to the other chinese
people.Political Control Since 1949 3/31/16 Gale World History In Context ic.galegroup.com
June 4 1989, written by Mary Chapin Carpenter, is a song which expresses the feeling of a
young chinese army who feel regretful and sorry for what he had done and what happened on
June 4, 1989. The song uses imagery and allusions to make the song more believable and
more realistic, it talks about the event in 1989 when students and low-class workers protested in

Tiananmen Square. Carpenter wrote, So many fists clenched to the sky we couldnt count them
all/But then the sea of weeping washed over the Hall The sea of weeping most likely
describes the machine guns fired at the crowd and the Hall was blood-washed. The use of
imagery gives people a very heart-breaking scene and it sticks to peoples minds. He also wrote
As the ashes of the banners soared into the sky The banners are probably the banners held
by the protesters before the army took action. The ashes of banners shows people the
hopelessness, the supreme power of the chinese government, and finally the death of all the
protesters. The use of imagery pulls the readers into the situation on June 4, 1989. I told them
theyd see me walking in the rain/In Budapest, in Prague, in Sowetos lanes/Betweens the
burning oil drums and the graffiti on the wall is an allusion the author makes in the perspective
of the young chinese soldier. The soldier makes an allusion that he is not on the Tiananmen
Square, doing things he think was very immoral. Instead, he imagines himself in Budapest,
Prague, Sowetos lanes, somewhere peaceful and full of freedom. Graffiti is a great example of
freedom, people paint their walls with their thoughts and emotions they want to spread to the
people, yet in China that is Graffiti are never present, it would be harshly punished. The young
soldier is an artist and he is disturbed by the harsh reality of the chinese government. In the
messages that find you then vanish in the ether
They vanish in the ether is a direct quote from Carpenters song June 4 1989. The sentence
which talks about vanishing into the ether is also about this young soldier. This young man is an
artist who also happened to be in the chinese army during the event of the Tiananmen Square
Protest. He is disturbed by the chinese government's actions and he started to create artworks
that almost provokes the chinese governments authorities. The chinese government don't want
to be known as a harsh government that doesnt allow political freedom so they do this nasty
game. The chinese government allows this artist to put his work onto the Internet for a couple
days, but then they would secretly take it down from the Internet. In June 4 1989, Mary Chapin

Carpenter expressed her sympathy to this young artist and her dissatisfaction with the way
chinese government acts.
All in all, the song expresses the feeling of the once oppressed chinese people and Mary
Chapin Carpenter spread the idea of anti-totalitarianism. The literary techniques used and the
history of the event makes the poem really influential, we will always remember the poem and
the heart to reach for freedom and democracy.

Works Cited
Charles Scribner's Sons, Charles Scribner's Sons. Political Control Since 1949: n. pag. Gale
world history in context. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
"MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER LYRICS." azlyrics. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/marychapincarpenter/4june1989.html>.

"The Tiananmen Square Protests: April 15June 4, 1989." World History in Context. Gale,
Cengage Learning, 2014. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.
<http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?
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%7CXNNNHD458570673&source=Bookmark&u=jeric34891&jsid=6a2fa55d08031dad45f8ea5
1960fd741>.
Widener, Jeff. "Tiananmen Square Protests of June 1989." 2006. jpg file.