Six Years Ago This DayMay 28, 1989

 

May 28, 1989

Tens of Thousands Took to Street; Students Resolve to Stay in TianAnMen till June 20

---

Source: Compiled from Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and Reuters, May 28, 1989

About 50,000 students took to the streets of Beijing today, defying martial law with a boisterous call for democracy and demanding that Premier Li Peng resign, just as he and other hard-line Communist Party leaders were mounting a chilling ideological crackdown.

"End martial law, demand human rights!" and "Li Peng, step down!" read large red banners hoisted by the marchers, who snaked through the city along several routes.

Far fewer ordinary citizens joined the students than in several massive demonstrations over the past two weeks, but those who lined the route cheered and flashed victory signs. Passengers stranded on buses that were trapped by the rally at a major intersection leaned out their windows and clapped in approval.

"This is what is in the people's hearts," said a man in his mid-30s who smoked a cigarette as he watched from a curb.

Students were growing exhausted by their marathon camp-in in TianAnMen Square, and thousands have been returning home to the provinces in recent days, ostensibly to spread the so-called democracy movement to their hometowns. But fresh recruits continued to flow into the capital at a rate of about 16,000 a day, according to Saturday's edition of the Beijing Daily. The newspaper estimated that about 172,000 students have come to Beijing since May 16, when the hunger strike at the square began, while fewer than half that number have gone home, frequently forcing their way onto trains without paying.

At the same time, army troops encircled Beijing and awaited orders to belatedly enforce a May 20 martial-law decree.

Responding to a tense and increasingly hopeless situation, student leaders proposed Saturday that they withdraw from the square after making a final show of strength with major rallies today and Tuesday. In a conflicting strategy, however, representatives of another student faction distributed leaflets on the campus of Beijing University calling for a renewed hunger strike in front of the Great Hall of the People, on the square, and before the gates of Zhongnanhai. The leaflet also escalated demands to include revision of China's constitution.

A joint council of students and workers announced on Sunday night that the sit-in would continue until at least June 20, when the National People's Congress is expected to hold a meeting of its standing committee. Students demanded in a statement broadcast over the square that the congress revoke martial law declared by Premier Li Peng on May 20 after mass anti-government protests rocked China.

In Shanghai, about 100,000 students, workers and supporters jammed the centre of China's largest city, demanding Li's dismissal and an end to martial law in Beijing.

Witnesses said between 20,000 and 30,000 people marched in the central city of Wuhan.

Beijing and Chinese communities all over the globe held "Global Chinese Demonstration for Democracy." Some two million people participated in the event. Hundreds of thousands of residents of Hong Kong, the British colony due to return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, marched through the streets to show their support for the Beijing students.

A special session of China's ruling Politburo on Saturday was reported to have removed moderate Zhao Ziyang from his position as head of the Communist Party, along with some of his closest associates.

---

Excerpt from a Tsinghua Student's Diary:

~{⊙　１９８９年５月２８日　星期天~}

~{　　今天上午哲明和刘杰决定到广场广播台去搞“政变”，要重新回去掌握广播台。~}
~{我则又来到政法的主楼。在６楼的教室里，关斌正在写对当前形势的总结文章，据说~}
~{他这几天常在各高校演讲。我想等他写完了复印一份拿到广播台去广播。~}

~{　　在这里听到消息，说王丹建议下周二，即５月３０日，撤出广场。~}

~{　　中午时来到广场附近，大游行正在举行。其中引人注目的是外地高校来京的学生~}
~{队伍，人数非常多，从队伍的长度和密度估计，有十多万人了，真没有想到！队伍里~}
~{面每个学校都以写有校名的横幅作先导。看那些校名，几乎全国各省市的高校都有了~}
~{。~}

~{　　外地高校的游行队伍从长安街走到建国门，然后向北到朝阳门，经朝阳门内大街~}
~{、西单，然后折回长安街。现在广场上外地院校的营地在广场的北部，而“外地高校~}
~{学生联合会”（外高联）的办公地点则在历史博物馆的门廊下。“外高联”的负责人~}
~{有个叫管连胜的，前些日子也在广播台。~}

~{　　下午回到广播台。乔樱告诉我，昨天吾尔开希、柴玲、王丹以现场指挥部的名义~}
~{在纪念碑上开新闻发布会，宣布５月３０日以大游行撤出广场，外地院校学生则返回~}
~{各地。并且要求广为宣传，说６月２０日召开人大会议时再行游行、集会！~}

~{　　另外，还宣布在广场开办自由大学，是与香港中文大学合办的，香港方面捐赠的~}
~{帐篷已经拉来了。另外还要设立自由论坛。自由大学则主要进行民主理论教育。~}

~{　　我对这个消息感到有点奇怪，就这样撤退啦？撤出广场后做什么呢？继续罢课还~}
~{是采取什么别的行动？都没有交代。而且根据这段时期以来的感受，我觉得像这样大~}
~{规模的群众运动，靠的完全是群众中那种同仇敌忾的情绪，运动必须永远有一个能调~}
~{动群众情绪的目标或行动作号召，才能把群众聚拢在一起朝向一个方向，这口气一旦~}
~{松懈了，就难以重新聚集起来，运动也就散了。~}

~{　　我又上到纪念碑上去了解情况。碰到罗平，他说３０日撤退是“首都各界联席会~}
~{议”的建议，新闻发布会上只是发布这条消息，并未下决定。~}

~{　　罗平还告诉我，柴玲现在正在社科院大楼开会，似乎知识界人士正在意图充当学~}
~{生与政府间的调解人。~}

~{　　在纪念碑上和一个记者聊，他也说，当时只是以“联席会议”的名义发布的建议~}
~{。这个联席会议里有王丹，其他的是市民的代表、工人自治会的代表，还有诗人、知~}
~{识界人士等。~}

~{　　另外一个香港记者告诉我，昨晚外高联开会，北高联有两位代表列席。当时外联~}
~{决议成立全国高联，接管广播台进行指挥，对撤不撤出广场未定，倾向于不撤。他还~}
~{说现在出现了四个权力机构：１）北高联，倾向于撤出广场；２）外高联，撤不撤未~}
~{定；３）现场指挥部，倾向于不撤；４）据他说叫“特别行动队”，都是些激烈分子~}
~{。~}

~{　　我也觉得，现在运动进入了多头发展的情况，除了学生的这些组织，还有“工自~}
~{联”、“知识界联合会”、市民组织。这也可以说是自由、民主的特征吧，不会只有~}
~{一个统一的组织。但是运动的整体趋向就越来越难以把握了。我真希望自己能有分身~}
~{术，散布到城里各个重要地点和组织中去了解情况。~}

~{　　在纪念碑上还碰到一个《经济日报》的记者，他说绝食发生后，赵紫阳曾提出以~}
~{他的名义承认４·２６社论的错误，不行；提出公开调查他的儿子，因为牵涉到别人~}
~{的公子，也不行；又提出个人前往广场对话，还是不行。赵在痛心失望之余，到大会~}
~{堂上用望远镜遥看广场情况，又被广场上的记者发现，用长焦镜头拍了照，在报纸上~}
~{登出，影响了党的形象。~}

~{　　这时候，听到北大的广播台在广播广场指挥部关于时局的声明和对今后形势的判~}
~{断。~}

~{　　声明称：现在中央和地方已形成了保守派的统一，下一步，１）是分化瓦解学生~}
~{内部的组织，让学生回校，用军队控制北京，控制新闻和人大。２）是清洗赵紫阳及~}
~{其代理人，清洗知识界人士。３）是清洗学生领袖。这些在邓小平的讲话中已暴露得~}
~{一清二楚，如果真是这样，则中国将一片黑暗，无法再起反抗。~}

~{　　因此，若广场坚持不撤，则或者军队进不了城，那么政府作出的决定（如处理赵~}
~{等）将会引起全国人民的反对。若军队进城强行镇压，则将进一步唤醒全国人民。~}

~{　　所以，学生不能撤出广场！~}

~{　　我对声明中提到的邓小平讲话不明所指，就跑到纪念碑的东北侧，这里原是北大~}
~{的广播台，现在似乎已成为现场指挥部的广播台了。旁边的营地好像也成了指挥部的~}
~{驻地。我在这里找到指挥部成员之一的李禄，我问他邓小平讲话是怎么回事，他开头~}
~{还不耐烦跟我讲，我就激他，说你是不是也不知道。他就急了，说邓小平最近有一个~}
~{内部讲话，称不怕流血，不怕骂娘，不怕国际舆论！这不就很清楚了吗？~}

~{　　我回到“学运之声”广播台。这时有个外高联的秘书长来到这里，希望我们帮助~}
~{广播外高联的消息、决议等。他说昨晚开会决定暂不撤出广场，想和北高联联合组成~}
~{全国高联。提出的方针是不卷入党派斗争，即不提打倒李鹏，只要求新闻自由、反腐~}
~{败等。又说今晚还要开会，与王丹等北高联代表协商。~}

~{　　在广播台这里还收到消息，说今晚１２点指挥部召集场上各校代表开会，并请北~}
~{高联、外高联派代表参加。又听说２５日晚夏冰所做的民意调查结果是，广场上的学~}
~{生，５６％表示要坚持，２０％多表示应撤离。~}

~{　　这时候，又听到广播“北京各界联席会议”关于时局的十点声明。声明代表的组~}
~{织有北高联、外高联、现场指挥部、知识界联合会、市民纠察队、工人纠察队、工人~}
~{敢死队、工人自治会。声明大意是要坚持斗争，要求解除戒严，撤走军队；召开人大~}
~{紧急会议，罢免李鹏，创造良好的对话气氛。并称将在广场坚持到６月２０日人大会~}
~{议召开。声明还说，由于柴玲等反映现场情况混乱，以及北高联的撤离动议，曾定于~}
~{５月３０日撤出，但现在仍改为坚持到６月２０日。~}

~{　　晚上外高联会议的决议是：与北高联协商整顿广场，参与广播和指挥，坚持广场~}
~{红旗不倒。~}

~{　　今天在广播台还收到消息，说石景山区法院在审讯一名工人，是与学运的事有关~}
~{的。~}

Six Years Ago This Day