Remaining Protestors At Tiananmen Square example essay topic

Were civilian casualties more extensive inside or outside of Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989? A) Plan of Investigation The bloodshed at Tiananmen Square in Beijing shocked the world. As a result of large-scale Chinese cover-up the public knew little about the deaths that occurred on the morning of June 4th 1989. The aim of this investigation is to find out where the casualties were most extensive. The information needed to answer this question would not be provided for 11 years after which documents began to surface helping explain the unknown tragedy. U.S. government documents surrounding the event were finally declassified. But even more importantly a collection of Chinese documents known as The Tiananmen Papers were leaked out of China.

The research for this investigation comes from these two sets of documents. By analyzing both the US and China accounts, similarities and will be identified and examined in an effort to find the most plausible answer. B) Summary of Evidence 1. On the Brink On the night of June 3rd, 1989 the communist nation China was on the brink of collapse. For months the capital city was saturated with millions of pro-democracy demonstrators. Students, intellectuals, and civilians had set up their democratic stronghold in the symbolic center of the country, Tiananmen Square.

The overwhelming animosity against the communist party had shut down the nation, and embarrassed its leaders. The senior members of the Chinese politburo demanded that this uprising be subdued and disbanded. After months of fruitless efforts to resolve the matter peacefully the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was dispatched to clear Tiananmen Square and to put an end to the ever expanding trouble. The soldiers were instructed to be extremely disciplined, opening fire as the last resort (Liang, 370.) Additionally no bloodshed would be allowed in the Square itself because of its important symbolism.

2. To the Square The United States first received news about the violence in Beijing in a message from the US embassy in Beijing on the night of June 3rd 1989. The document reported that the PLA was using violent force to remove protestors as they moved on Tiananmen Square. Chinese tanks, APCs, trucks, and soldiers had met sizable civilian resistance. Thousands of protestors blockaded the PLA pelting the army with rocks, bottles, and molotov cocktails (Evans, Document 12.) Some proceeded to overturn and destroy military vehicles.

Soldiers using automatic weapons fired into the mass of protestors. Demonstrators fell back slowly, continuing to fight for seven hours. Not surprisingly casualties were very high and hospitals were reported to be overflowing with injuries and deaths (Evans, Document 12.) Chinese documents describe an equally violent march on Tiananmen. Tens of thousands of citizens formed a massive human blockade West of the square. Believing the troops would not fire upon their own people, protestors hurled shards of brick and glass at the soldiers.

The soldiers formed two rows and sent volleys of bullets into the unsuspecting demonstrators. Citizens continued to resist, creating roadblocks and hurling concrete. It took the PLA seven hours to make the three mile march to Tiananmen. Local hospitals reported over 2,000 casualties with over two hundred dead (Liang, 373.) 3. The Clearing of Tiananmen Square The American Secretary of States intelligence summary for the morning of June 4th describes the military's takeover of Tiananmen Square. Most demonstrators were reporting leaving the square after the rumors of violence.

The army surrounded Tiananmen at 3: 30 a.m. At 5: 30 a. m., when nearly 50 PLA tanks, APCs, and trucks entered the square the PLA opened fire on the 3,000 democratic protestors remaining in the square (Evans, Document 14.) When the rifles and machine guns cooled fifteen minutes later, bodies were reported lying on the ground of Tiananmen Square. The Chinese description of the evacuation of the Square is much different. After the PLA took control of the Square, soldiers formed rows and waited expressionlessly clutching their batons.

Broadcasts were played over the loud speakers, the last of which listed four demands, 1. Anyone on the Square who hears this announcement must leave immediately. 2. Martial law troops will use any means necessary to deal with those who resist this order or disobey by remaining in the square.

3. The Square will be under the strict control of martial law troops after it is cleared. 4. All patriotic citizens and students who do not want I to see turmoil in the country should cooperate with the martial law troops and clear the square. (Liang, 381) Hearing these demands for evacuation, tens of thousands of citizens and students left the square. What remained were a few thousand die-hard students.

10,000 soldiers and several tanks advanced upon the remaining students. By firing their guns over the heads of and pushing the far outnumbered students, the PLA was able to completely evacuate Tiananmen Square peacefully. According to Chinese documentation, no one was killed while clearing the square. C) Evaluation of Sources Evans, Michael L., and Jeffrey T. Rich elson. National Security Archive. Tiananmen Square, 1989: The Declassified History.

1 June 1999.9 Mar. 2005. This online collection of declassified documents focuses on the student demonstrations in China from 1985 to 1989. The database contains the actual documents sent between the US Embassy in Beijing and the Department of State in Washington DC. Recently declassified, these documents include summaries of intelligence gathered by the US Embassy in Beijing for June 3rd and 4th, 1989. This is an invaluable resource because it provides a relatively unbiased and uncensored description of the events for these violent days. Unfortunately, some of the information in these documents is still considered classified and is blacked out.

Consequently, the reader is forced to take some situations out of context and is not able to read the document as it was meant to be read. The Tiananmen Papers. Comp. Zhang Liang. Ed. Perry Link, and Andrew J. Nathan.

New York: Public Affairs, 2001. This book consists of hundreds of transcripts from actual Chinese documents reporting on the fateful spring of 1989. A traitor compiled these documents and sent them to the West upon which they were verified and acknowledged. The reports include recorded conversations of the central decision makers and their decision to clear out Tiananmen Square. Additionally, and most importantly, the documents report of happenings in the field as the PLA moved against the democratic protestors. This resource is very valuable because it provides the information which China later tried desperately to cover up.

Although all these documents are now accepted as actual Chinese documents they are limited in that the documents themselves could be fictitious. This would be the case if a Chinese department needed to cover something up. D) Analysis The similarity between Chinese and U.S. accounts of the march on Tiananmen verifies that 200 protestors died trying to prevent the PLA from reaching the Square. The critical difference between Chinese and U.S. reports lies in the clearing of Tiananmen Square. Evidence from the U.S. Embassy suggests that the most violent action occurred in the crowded square. Chinese documents, however, report that the clearing of the square was very peaceful when compared to the skirmishes fought on the streets.

In order to identify which fights resulted in the most casualties, it must be determined if the clearing of Tiananmen Square was violent or not. It is very plausible that the PLA evacuated the square without bloodshed. There were 10,800 soldiers and officers in the Square. The 112th and 113th Divisions blocked east and west entrances to the Square. At the same time the Sixth Armored Division sealed off the northern end of the square, thereby isolating the die-hard students who remained in the Square to ensure a smooth clearing operation. (Liang, 391) With outside rioters removed the 10,800 well armed and experienced soldiers supported with tanks would definitely be able to forcefully remove a few thousand unarmed students from the square.

The army was ordered not to cause any bloodshed within the square, and the evidence shows that they were clearly capable of it. Yet, while the soldiers were capable of peacefully removing the students that does not mean they did. On the march to Tiananmen, both the U.S. and China reported very violent reaction to the democratic protestors. The army was also ordered to do everything they possible could to avoid bloodshed and to open fire as a last resort (Liang, 370.) The troops marching on the square from the west did not have such discipline. Many "soldiers who were hit by rocks lost their self-control and began firing wildly at anyone who shouted 'Fascist!' or threw rocks or bricks" (Liang, 374.) This same division was reported firing upon retreating masses of protestors. The violence and lack of discipline that these soldiers demonstrated while marching to the Square suggested that they could not act under the extreme discipline that the square demanded.

Additionally, the protestors had proven to be very resistive to the PLA. While blockading the advancing troops many protestors willingly gambled their lives toppling vehicles and showering firing soldiers with molotov cocktails. If the remaining demonstrators were a collection of the die-hard students, it is almost certain that they would resist and harass the PLA to the end. This group of students would not be easily removed and they would certainly test the discipline of the fatigued soldier. It seems unrealistic that the violence which was so prevalent outside could suddenly stop once the PLA reached the protestor's stronghold at Tiananmen Square.

There is an abundance of compelling evidence showing that it did not. An emotional eyewitness claimed that over 10,000 people had been killed in Tiananmen Square and another Chinese-American eyewitness reported seeing a tank run over eleven people (Evans, Document 14) Another eyewitness remembers machine gun placements surrounding the students and opening fire upon them (Cheng, 224.) A doctor who was treating Tiananmen victims estimated that 1700 people had died by 8: 00 am on June 4th. These horribly violent descriptions of the clearing at Tiananmen Square are much more congruent with the other actions that took place that day. It seems likely that the soldiers fired upon the remaining protestors at Tiananmen Square.

Their automatic weapons were capable of firing over 10 bullets per second, and with no where to run the casualties would be very high. The United States Embassy reported that the soldiers continued to fire for fifteen minutes. It is very likely that most of the remaining students were either injured or died. The estimate of 1700 deaths is fitting to the evidence and far eclipses the 200 reported deaths resulting in the march to the city. E) Conclusion Despite the orders given to the soldiers, most of the casualties seem to have occurred inside Tiananmen Square. The Chinese report that no one was killed while removing the democratic stronghold from the Square seems unrealistic in light of all the other violence on that day.

It seems likely that this flawed document is a fictitious part of a Chinese cover up. The hardcore student of the Square would most certainly test the Army beyond their limits. Students were engaging soldiers, kidnapping them, beating them, torching them and killing them. They set fire to over 500 of their vehicles. In many cases opening fire was a necessary step to defend themselves. By focusing on the army's actions this investigation makes the impression that the army was to blame.

The country's leaders are to blame; they gave the PLA an unreasonable assignment. The soldiers could not be expected to carry out their evacuation in the face of so much hostility. Analyzing the leader's decision to remove protestors by force was out of the scope of this investigation but clearly the leaders of China were ineffective in defusing the situation and foolishly depended on the army to do what they could not. Cohen, Arthur A. The Communism of Mao Tse-Tung. Chicago: The University of Chicago P, n. d. Kort, Michael G. China Under Communism.

Brookfield: Millbrook, n. d. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia... The National Security Archive. Ed. Micheal L. Evans.