World

Tiananmen Square: 25 year anniversary

How did Tiananmen change China? A selection of articles on the continuing significance of June 4th 1989

June 03, 2014
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Twenty five years ago the world changed. In 1989, revolutions swept across the Eastern Bloc, the Berlin Wall was torn down and the USSR began to split into numerous smaller states.

The year was no less important in the history of modern China. During 1989 talk of political change was rife. The death Hu Yaobang, a high-ranking reformist politician, sparked mass demonstrations and hunger strikes in Beijing throughout April and May. On June 3rd and 4th the Communist Party moved to end these pro-democracy protests. Tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square, thousands were arrested and many hundreds were killed.

In the quarter century since then, China has become a global superpower, while the Tiananmen protestors have disappeared from sight. In the west the massacre has become a byword for oppression, but what is the view in China? Here is a selection of Prospect articles on the continuing significance of June 4th 1989.

1. The ghosts of Tiananmen: These days China’s rulers have more to fear from economic stagnation than they do from democratic dissidents, says Ian Buruma

2. Tiananmen: spare me the lecture:Diane Wei Liang argues the massacre should not be used as a stick with which to beat China.

3. Tiananmen: the lessons from Russia: China and Russia have followed divergent paths since 1989, but the Communist Party could still learn a thing or two from Gorbachev according to Archie Brown

4. The voice of Tiananmen: Novelist Ma Jian speaks to Tom Chatfield talks about his novel, Beijing Coma. “From the outside,” Ma says, “the protests looked like a mass movement. But in fact they were tiny, disconnected pockets of people.” 5. At war with history: Isabel Hilton examines how, post-Tiananmen, the Communist party has distorted history to shore up support among the Chinese people