Behind the Tiananmen Massacre : Social, Political, and Economic Ferment in China

This book is a study on the June 4 massacre to determine the causes of the unrest and to assess the short- and long-term impacts on the People's Republic of China's future development. The aim is to provide of what happened in Beijing in 1989 with an analysis of why the tragedy occurred.

The 1989 prodemocracy movement in the People''s Republic of China and the subsequent crackdown were marked by many dramatic reversals. Supported at first by several thousand Beijing University students, the movement quickly attracted millions of followers and developed into a nationwide mass movement. The jubilant mood during the short-lived freedom in Tiananmen Square turned into despair over the unnecessary bloodshed. The event raised many deeply disturbing questions: Was the massacre necessary and justified? What is the historical significance of this movement? Which path will the PRC follow in the decade ahead? Although no one had anticipated the tragic outcome, the popular unrest was not totally unexpected. When I read the news of 200,000 Beijing students and residents, in open defiance of the government''s order, staging a largescale demonstration on Apri120, I knew a confrontation between the people and the government was inevitable.