The People’s Republic of China 149
the much-anticipated visit of Soviet leader and reformer Mikhail Gor-
bachev to China. Both Deng and Gorbachev were anxious to repair
relations between their two countries, but for the reporters from around
the world, massive student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square easily
overshadowed Gorbachev’s visit.
Zhao Ziyang argued for a more conciliatory approach to the stu-
dents, but when students learned of Zhao’s sympathies, they optimisti-
cally intensifi ed their protests, confi rming to the hard-liners that Zhao’s
approach would backfi re. Some students began a hunger strike to dem-
onstrate their determination to die for their cause if necessary. Even
worse, from the Party’s perspective, hundreds of thousands of ordinary
citizens took to the streets in Beijing and other major cities to express
their support for the students. For weeks the Communist Party leader-
ship seemed paralyzed and unable to respond effectively to this grow-
ing crisis. Deng Xiaoping, who had seen Gorbachev’s visit to Beijing as
the crowning event of his reforms, felt humiliated by this open show of
disrespect for his leadership.
As soon as Gorbachev departed on May 18, Deng sided with the
hard-line faction in the leadership and agreed to end the demonstrations
by force. Zhao Ziyang refused to declare martial law and was expelled
from the Party a few days later. Premier Li Peng went on national tele-
vision to declare martial law on May 20. Even at this point, many
remained hopeful, as citizens fi lled the streets and turned back the fi rst
attempts of the People’s Liberation Army troops to enter Beijing. On
May 30, students assembled a plaster model they called the Goddess
of Democracy in the middle of Tiananmen Square, directly facing the
portrait of Chairman Mao, a fi nal symbolic defi ance of the Chinese
government.
Many student leaders argued in late May for the evacuation of
Tiananmen Square and a return to their campuses. They could declare
victory in having peacefully demonstrated for six exhilarating weeks
and vow to continue their crusade more quietly. But in the heat of the
moment, the most radical students had come to believe that bloodshed
was needed to move China forward by discrediting the Chinese Com-
munist government once and for all. Not very familiar with the demo-
cratic principle of majority rule, the students refused to leave the square
as long as some students insisted on staying.
In the early dawn of June 4, after six weeks of hope and uncertainty,
army troops entered Beijing by force, shooting live bullets at unarmed
crowds. It was a night of horror, bloodshed, and anger, as many in
the crowds fought back with rocks and homemade Molotov cocktails.