1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
South Launceston continued to struggle on and off the field, with the TFL looking likely to attempt to get the struggling Bulldogs to move away from their sub-standard Youngtown ground and move them to York Park in an effort to lift the club's poor image and attract better crowds, whilst Sandy Bay would win their opening four games of the season then fall into a dark hole and only win another three for the rest of the season in a disappointing finish.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
The TFL and various media commentators were similarly calling for Sandy Bay to merge with North Hobart and move its home base away from the tiny Queenborough Oval and up to North Hobart Oval in a bid to improve the Seagulls image and attract better crowds to their matches.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
An exciting finals series got underway on 26 August with fierce inner-city rivals North Hobart and Hobart doing battle in the Qualifying Final.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
Hobart broke out to a 31-point lead late in the second quarter only to see the Demons fight back and run away with the match to record a 31-point victory, while the following day, Clarence would start the Elimination Final strongly against hated rival Glenorchy and hold a five-goal lead shortly before half time only to see the Magpies draw level at three-quarter time and race away with the match to win by 30-points, keeping the Roos scoreless in the final quarter in the process.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
On 2 September, football followers in both the North and South of the state were treated to two intriguing finals matches.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
At York Park, minor premier North Launceston would face North Hobart for the right to go straight into the grand final.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
Despite a good start for the Robins, North Hobart would find their way during the second quarter and run rampant, proving far too good on the day to record a 28-point win in front of almost 7,000 parochial Launcestonians.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
Meanwhile, at North Hobart Oval, Hobart would do battle against the fading Magpie Machine from Glenorchy.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
Glenorchy had made every grand final except one from 1975-1988 whilst their opponents Hobart had been in only three grand finals since 1966.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
In a see-sawing contest all day which enthralled the 5,573-strong crowd, Glenorchy held sway by just 2-points at the final change before the Tigers unleashed a sensational seven goal to two burst in the final quarter to win by 29-points, consigning Glenorchy to missing their first Grand Final since 1981. In the Preliminary Final on 9 September, Hobart would do battle with North Launceston in a true North v South battle. The two clubs last North Hobart Oval finals meeting was in the 1950 State Grand Final and the Robins were keen to repeat that 1950 triumph.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
Unfortunately for the minor premier, the hopes of the North weighed too heavily on them and they were crushed by a quiet and determined Tiger outfit who totally outclassed the Robins all day to book a Grand Final spot with a 41-point win. This however, was not to be the last time these two clubs would cross paths in the ensuing years.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
The Grand Final showdown on 16 September was one eagerly awaited by football fans in the South, the two old inner-city rivals (North Hobart and Hobart) both with great histories were ready to battle it out in the Grand Final for the first time since 1960.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
On a dull, cold day Hobart, looking to break a nine-year premiership drought, came out full of running and shocked an unsettled Demon side with six unanswered first quarter goals which left the 16,528-strong crowd stunned.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
In the early stages of the second quarter, Hobart continued to hold sway and held a 35-point lead over North Hobart, but the Demons produced one of the most memorable spells of attacking football in TFL Grand Final history by rattling on eight unanswered goals in eleven minutes to jump out to a 9-point lead over a shell-shocked Hobart, Tiger forward Michael Winter booted his sixth goal right on half time to reduce the Demon lead to 3-points at the long break but the difference in body language of the two sides leaving the ground for half-time couldn't have been more stark.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, Season Summary
In the second half it was all North Hobart as they ran rampant over Hobart, producing another six goals in the third quarter to break out to a 26-point three-quarter time lead and eventually run out 30-point winners over a gallant Hobart to take their second premiership in three years.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, 1989 TFL Statewide League Ladder, Round 2
This was the first draw in TFL Statewide League history, with the most recent in the TANFL having occurred a combined 407 games earlier in the 1983 First-Semi-Final between Sandy Bay and Clarence. The previous roster round draw was in 1980 between Glenorchy and North Hobart.


1989 TFL Statewide League season, 1989 TFL Statewide League Ladder, Split Round 14 & 15 (Continued)
(Saturday, 22 July. Saturday, 29 July & Sunday 30 July 1989)


1989 Taipei Women's Championship – Doubles
Patty Fendick and Ann Henricksson were the defending doubles tennis champions at the 1989 Taipei Women's Championship, but only Henricksson competed that year, with Beth Herr. They lost in the first round to Cecilia Dahlman and Nana Miyagi.


1989 Taipei Women's Championship – Doubles
Maria Lindström and Heather Ludloff won the final 4–6, 7–5, 6–3 against Dahlman and Miyagi.


1989 Taipei Women's Championship – Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


1989 Taipei Women's Championship – Singles
The singles tournament of the 1989 Taipei Women's Championship was a 32-draw single elimination tournament.


1989 Taipei Women's Championship – Singles
Stephanie Rehe was the defending champion but did not compete that year.


1989 Taipei Women's Championship – Singles
Anne Minter won in the final 6–1, 4–6, 6–2 against Cammy MacGregor.


1989 Taipei Women's Championship – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1989 Taipei Women's Championships
The 1989 Taipei Women's Championships was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Taipei, Taiwan that was part of the Category 1 tier of the 1989 WTA Tour. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from 24 April through 30 April 1989. First-seeded Anne Minter won the singles title.


1989 Taipei Women's Championships, Finals, Doubles
Maria Lindström /  Heather Ludloff defeated  Cecilia Dahlman /  Nana Miyagi 4–6, 7–5, 6–3


1989 Taiwanese legislative election
The 1989 Taiwanese legislative election were held on 3 December 1989 for members of the Legislative Yuan.


1989 Taiwanese legislative election, Background
Compared with the sixth supplementary election the number of new delegates to the Legislative Yuan had been increased from 100 to 130. Of these, 101 were to be elected directly representing Taiwan Province and the special municipalities of Taipei City and Kaohsiung City. The remaining 29 seats were to represent overseas nationals, these delegates were appointed by the President.


1989 Taiwanese legislative election, Results
Turnout for the supplementary election was 75.5%. Of the 101 directly elected delegates, 72 belonged to the Kuomintang, 21 to Democratic Progressive Party and 8 were independents.


1989 Taiwanese legislative election, Results
By virtue of achieving more than 20 seats, the Democratic Progressive Party secured the prerogative to propose legislation in the Legislative Yuan.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election
The ninth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 21 January 1989. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the Chief Minister. It was his third term in office. The DMK was in power only for a short term, as it was dismissed on 31 January 1991 by the Indian Prime minister Chandra Shekhar using Article 356 of the Indian Constitution.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Background, Split in AIADMK
After the death of M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R) in December 1987, his wife Janaki Ramachandran took over as Chief Minister. She lasted less than a month in power. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) split into two factions, one led by Janaki and the other by J. Jayalalithaa. The undivided AIADMK legislature party had a strength of 132 including the Speaker P. H. Pandian. 97 of them supported the Janaki faction while 33 backed the Jayalalithaa group. Speaker Pandian was a supporter of Janaki. He did not recognize the Jayalalithaa group as a separate party.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Background, Split in AIADMK
On 28 January 1988, Janaki sought a vote of confidence in the Assembly. The Jayalalithaa group abstained from the assembly and Pandian disqualified all of them. Earlier in December 1986, 10 MLAs of the DMK had been expelled from the Assembly by Pandian for their participation in the anti-Hindi agitation of 1986, bringing down the strength of the house to 224. The disqualification of the 33 MLAs of the Jayalalithaa group by P.H.Pandian further reduced the assembly's strength to 191.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Background, Split in AIADMK
This enabled Janaki to win the vote of confidence with the support of only 99 members (with 8 opposing votes and 3 neutrals). Other opposition parties boycotted the vote - only 111 members were present during the motion. Though she won the vote of confidence, her government was dismissed by prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on 30 January citing the disruptions in the assembly. After a year of President's rule, elections were again held in January 1989.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Background, Split in AIADMK
Both the AIADMK factions claimed to be the official AIADMK and requested the election commission to grant the "two leaves" symbol of the AIADMK to them. However, the election commission refused to recognize either of them as the official AIADMK and temporarily froze the "two leaves" symbol. Instead it awarded the "cock" symbol to the Jayalalithaa faction (AIADMK(J)), while the Janaki faction (AIADMK(JA)) was given the "two doves" symbol.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Background, Coalitions
The Tamil Nadu unit of the Indian National Congress initially decided to ally with the Jayalalithaa faction. This move was opposed by actor and Congress leader Sivaji Ganesan. On 10 February 1988, he left the party along with his supporters to form a new party Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani. Ganesan's party allied itself with the Janaki faction. Eventually, the Congress also contested the elections alone.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Background, Coalitions
The DMK was part of the Janata Dal led National Front. The front initially included both the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM). However, in the election only Janata Dal and CPM had a seat sharing agreement with the DMK. The CPI allied itself with the AIADMK(J).


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Background, Coalitions
This election attracted unusually high level of attention at the national level. It was seen as a precursor for the General election of 1989, a test of Rajiv Gandhi's popularity and P.H.Pandian's popularity as a speaker claiming Sky High Powers. The Tamil Nadu Congress (under G. K. Moopanar) was contesting elections alone after a gap of twelve years and Rajjiv Gandhi campaigned extensively making multiple campaign visits to Tamil Nadu. V. P. Singh and Jyoti Basu, the national leaders of Janata Dal and CPM respectively also campaigned for the DMK led front in Tamil Nadu.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Seat allotments, AIADMK (Jayalalithaa) Front
†: The four seats that were delayed were contested by a united AIADMK front (AIADMK(J) & AIADMK(JA)), under the leader Jayalalithaa in a bye-election.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Voting and results
The election for 232 constituencies was held on 21 January 1989. The turnout among registered voters was 69.69%. Elections could not be held for two constituencies -Marungapuri and Madurai East - due to technical reasons. For these two elections were conducted later on 11 March 1989. Since the two AIADMK factions had merged in February 1989 under the leadership of Jayalalitha, the Election Commission restored the "Two Leaves" symbol to the unified AIADMK for these elections. The unified AIADMK won both the seats.


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Voting and results, Results by Post-Poll Alliance
†: Seat change reflects 33 MLAs that supported Jayalalithaa faction and 97 MLAs that supported Janaki faction (2 MLAs that supported her had their constituency election in a later March by-election after the merge). It also reflects GKC merging with INC and AKD not winning a seat after winning a seat in 1984. ‡: Vote % reflects the percentage of votes the party received compared to the entire electorate that voted in this election. Adjusted (Adj.) Vote %, reflects the % of votes the party received per constituency that they contested. Sources: Election Commission of India


1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Analysis
The split in the AIADMK and the Congress contesting alone split the opposition votes, while the DMK retained its vote bank and won a comfortable majority. Janaki Ramachandran, contesting from Andipatti, lost to DMK's P. Asayan by less than a 5000 vote margin, in a four-way contest between AIADMK (Janaki), AIADMK (Jayalalithaa), Congress, and DMK.


1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
The 1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League the 14th playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the third under head coach  Ray Perkins.


1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
The team  matched on a 5–11 season in 1988, in which finished winning two of their last three games including an upset of the 1988 AFC East Champion Buffalo Bills (a win that was not only Tampa Bay's high point of the season, but turned out to be hugely impactful on the AFC playoff picture, as Buffalo's loss combined with an overtime win by the Cincinnati Bengals over Washington in the season finale meant that the Bengals clinched the home-field advantage that would have otherwise gone to the Bills; Cincinnati ended up winning a close AFC title game at home against Buffalo and got to Super Bowl XXIII.


1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
The season started with a road win against the improved Green Bay Packers, and game two brought the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana to Tampa Stadium. With Joe trying to direct a 4th quarter comeback, cornerback Ricky Reynolds dropped what would have been a game ending interception on second down in the end zone. On third down, Montana rolled out and ran untouched into the endzone for a winning TD that left a rare sellout crowd stunned and silent in defeat.


1989 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
The Bucs extended their record to 3–2 by beating the hated Chicago Bears finally in Tampa Stadium, holding off the Bears to a 42–35 victory. It was an impressive win, but then the Bucs lost to the Detroit Lions in the last minute and entered into an overall five-game losing-streak tailspin. Tampa Bay would sweep Chicago to end the streak (an achievement which was diluted by the Bears having their worst season in several years) but ended with a disappointing 5–11 record. James Wilder Sr.’s final season was highlighted by a 100-yard receiving game in week 9. Many fans felt the Bucs were far better than the final record suggested, and offseason acquisitions would help the Bucs win the next year.


1989 Tasmanian state election
The Tasmanian state election, 1989 was held on 13 May 1989 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — seven members were elected from each of five electorates. The quota required for election was 12.5% in each division.


1989 Tasmanian state election
The incumbent Liberal government headed by Robin Gray hoped to secure a third term in office. The Labor Party was headed by Michael Field. The Green independents were headed by Bob Brown. The Australian Democrats contested all electorates except Braddon. Green candidates were run in all electorates where they previously only fielded candidates in the south.


1989 Tasmanian state election
Prior to the election the Liberals held 19 of the 35 seats in parliament. The Labor Party held 14 and there were two Green independents.


1989 Tasmanian state election
To date, this is the last election that a Premier, in Gray, had fought a second consecutive election.


1989 Tasmanian state election, Results
Tasmanian state election, 13 May 1989House of Assembly << 1986–1992 >>


1989 Tasmanian state election, Aftermath
After the election the Liberals had lost majority by one seat and the Greens gained the balance of power.


1989 Tasmanian state election, Aftermath
The Labor Party had suffered a minor swing against them, they lost one seat in Lyons to the Greens.


1989 Tasmanian state election, Aftermath
The Greens succeeded in electing one member to every electorate. This election victory would help form the official party of today's  Tasmanian Greens. Bob Brown topped the poll in Denison and was first member elected. Their primary vote of 17.1% was a record for Green movements and wouldn't be beaten until the 2002 Tasmanian election.


1989 Tasmanian state election, Aftermath
Labor Party leader Michael Field formed a loose alliance with the Greens which became known as the Labor–Green Accord.


1989 Tasmanian state election, Aftermath
The Liberals determined to stay in government; tried to call a second election. Gray started a petition which attracted many signatures. Edmund Rouse attempted to bribe newly elected Labor member Jim Cox with $110,000 if he would cross the floor to support Gray instead of Field. Cox refused and reported the bribe to police. Rouse served 18 months in gaol and allegations surfaced that the Liberal party was involved. A later inquiry concluded there was no evidence Gray was connected to the bribe.


1989 Tasmanian state election, Aftermath
After the alliance was formed, the Greens joined with Labor to vote down the Liberals' choice for Speaker. Now realising he faced certain defeat on the floor of the legislature, Gray resigned and Michael Field became Premier.


1989 Tatry
1989 Tatry, provisional designation 1955 FG, is a carbonaceous Vestian asteroid and tumbling slow rotator from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter.


1989 Tatry
It was discovered on 20 March 1955, by the Slovakian astronomers Alois Paroubek and Regina Podstanická at Skalnate Pleso Observatory, Slovakia, and named for the High Tatra Mountains. It was their only minor planet discovery.


1989 Tatry, Orbit and classification
Based on its orbital elements, the asteroid is a member of the Vesta family and classified as a carbonaceous C-type asteroid in the SMASS taxonomy. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,317 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic. It was first identified as 1935 UQ at the South African Union Observatory in 1935, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 20 years prior to its official discovery.


1989 Tatry, Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures between 8.99 and 9.87 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.175 and 0.262. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a much larger diameter of 16.8 kilometers, as the lower the albedo (reflectivity), the higher the diameter at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).


1989 Tatry, Lightcurves
Photometric measurements of the asteroid made in January 2005, by astronomer Brian D. Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory, Colorado, gave a lightcurve with a period of 39.9±0.1 hours and a brightness variation of below 0.22±0.02 in magnitude. However, the data was incomplete, so the period is considered suspect (U=2-). Further measurements made in October 2007, by Adrián Galád, Leonard Kornoš and Štefan Gajdoš at Modra Observatory in Slovakia, showed a much longer period of 131.3±0.2 hours with a brightness variation of 0.5 in magnitude (U=2). In March 2009, a fragmentary lightcurve obtained by French amateur astronomer Pierre Antonini gave a period of 24 hours (U=1).


1989 Tatry, Lightcurves, Tumbler
The observers also detected a non-principal axis rotation seen in distinct rotational cycles in successive order. This is commonly known as tumbling. Tatry is one of a group of less than 200 bodies known to be is such a state (also see List of tumblers).


1989 Tatry, Naming
This minor planet is named after the location of the discovering observatory, High Tatras (Slovak: Vysoké Tatry), the highest mountain range in northern Slovakia. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 February 1980 (M.P.C. 5183).


1989 Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa fire
On 22 September 1989, a fire took place at Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa (also known as Madrasah Pondok Pak Ya) in Guar Chempedak, Kedah, Malaysia. Around 27 students who are mostly girls were killed in the incident. All victims bodies later were buried in a special Muslim cemetery at Padang Lumat as the "27 Syuhada Peristiwa Kebakaran Pondok Pak Ya" (27 Martyrs of the Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa fire).


1989 Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa fire, Victims
A total of 27 victims, all women, were killed in the fire.


1989 Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa fire, Victims
"'Pedih masih berbekas sehingga kini' | Berita Harian". www.bharian.com.my. Retrieved 18 July 2021.


1989 Taça de Portugal Final
The 1989 Taça de Portugal Final was the final match of the 1988–89 Taça de Portugal, the 49th season of the Taça de Portugal, the premier Portuguese football cup competition organized by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). The match was played on 28 May 1989 at the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and opposed two Primeira Liga sides: Belenenses and Benfica. Belenenses defeated Benfica 2–1 to claim the Taça de Portugal for a third time in their history.


1989 Taça de Portugal Final
In Portugal, the final was televised live on RTP. As a result of Belenenses winning the Taça de Portugal, the Azuis do Restelo qualified for the 1989 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira where they took on their cup opponents who won the 1988–89 Primeira Divisão.


1989 Team Ice Racing World Championship
The 1989 Team Ice Racing World Championship was the 11th edition of the Team World Championship. The final was held on ?, 1989, in Assen in the Netherlands. The Soviet Union won their ninth title.


1989 Tejano Music Awards
The 9th Tejano Music Awards were held in 1989. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The Tejano Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony recognizing Tejano music musicians.


1989 Tel Aviv Open
The 1989 Tel Aviv Open was a men's tennis tournament played on hard courts that was part of the 1989 Nabisco Grand Prix. It was played at the Israel Tennis Centers in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat HaSharon, Israel from October 16 through October 23, 1989. Second-seeded Jimmy Connors won the singles title.


1989 Tel Aviv Open, Finals, Doubles
Jeremy Bates /  Patrick Baur defeated  Rikard Bergh /  Per Henricsson 6–1, 4–6, 6–1


1989 Tel Aviv Open – Doubles
Roger Smith and Paul Wekesa were the defending champions, but did not participate this year.


1989 Tel Aviv Open – Doubles
Jeremy Bates and Patrick Baur won the title, defeating Rikard Bergh and Per Henricsson 6–1, 4–6, 6–1 in the final.


1989 Tel Aviv Open – Singles
Brad Gilbert was the defending champion, but he lost in first round.


1989 Tel Aviv Open – Singles
Jimmy Connors won the tournament, beating Gilad Bloom in the final, 2–6, 6–2, 6–1.


1989 Temple Owls football team
The 1989 Temple Owls football team was an American football team that represented Temple University as an independent during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its first season under head coach Jerry Berndt, the team compiled a 1–10 record and was outscored by a total of 387 to 141. The team played its home games at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.


1989 Temple Owls football team
The team's statistical leaders included Victor Lay with 684 passing yards, Ventres Stevenson with 841 rushing yards, Rick Drayton with 383 receiving yards, and placekicker Bob Wright with 43 points scored.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack
1989 Temple of the Tooth attack is an attack on the Temple of the Tooth Relic, located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The shrine, which is considered to be important to the Buddhists in Sri Lanka, houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha, and is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site. It was attacked on 8 February 1989, allegedly by the armed cadres affiliated to Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Marxist-Leninist Communist political party in Sri Lanka.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, Background
In the late 1980s, the country was under a tense situation with two insurgencies ravaging Northern and Southern parts of Sri Lanka. First insurgency was initiated by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and several Tamil militant groups in 1983, seeking to create an independent Tamil state in Northern and Eastern parts of the country. In 1987, neighboring India intervened in the conflict to bring an end to the fighting between the insurgents and the Sri Lankan armed forces. That year, the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord was signed between the two countries and Indian Peace Keeping Force was deployed in Northern Sri Lanka to enforce disarmament of militant organizations and to watch over the regional council.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, Background
JVP and other nationalist groups viewed this as a proliferation of Indian imperialism. This suspicion was fuelled by the perceived threat of North-Eastern autonomy, due to the presence of Indian Army in Sri Lankan soil. By this time, JVP was equipped with experiences of a failed insurrection in 1971, against the government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Under these circumstances, the party launched a second insurrection in 1987, seeking to overthrow the then United National Party government.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, Incident
As the tension grew, JVP and its military wing, Patriotic People's Movement (Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya) launched attacks on various government and civilian targets. Many public places were vandalised, and people presumed to be supportive of the government were attacked. Temple of the Tooth, located in the heart of the Kandy city too came under attack on 8 February 1989. Eyewitness accounts, including a former JVP member who took part in the attack, describe the incident in detail.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, Incident, Account of Adhikari
In 2001, The Sunday Leader, a Sri Lankan English-language weekly, interviewed a former JVP member, Adhikari alias Kosala, who participated in the attack. A fully-fledged member, Adhikari had received arms training, and participated in several operations on behalf of the party, including the Pallekele Army Camp attack, 1987 Bogambara prison attack and Digana bank heist.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, Incident, Account of Adhikari
According to Adhikari, the first meeting to plan the attack was held at the house of a JVP co-ordinator named Sunanda, in Kandy. In that meeting, Sunanda explained the motivation behind the attack. He believed that taking away the relic of the tooth of the Buddha, which had been residing in the country for at least 1,700 years, would have made the people to rise up against the government which couldn't even protect the sacred property. This relic is traditionally considered as the symbol of the leadership and royalty in Sri Lanka.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, Incident, Account of Adhikari
Next week, another meeting was held at the same place, with the presence of D.M. Ananda alias Kalu Ajith, the JVP leader of Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces, and Somawansa Amarasinghe alias Sanath, who became the leader of the JVP later and the last surviving politburo member of the party after the rebellion. In that meeting, Adhikari proposed a place in Medamahanuwara, to hide the relic after getting hold of it. On the next day, 8 February, he was asked to be present near the Queen's Hotel, Kandy around 2.00 – 2.30 pm.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, Incident, Account of Adhikari
There he met Sarath, one of his colleagues in Digana bank heist, who introduced him to 4 boys and 2 girls. The girls, dressed in white lama saris were carrying two trays filled with flowers. Adhikari's task was to bring the group to the Makara Thorana (the entrance to the Temple), where he would meet two gentlemen, who carried pens attached to their pockets, as an aid to recognition. As instructed, after completing his job, he proceeded to the Kundasale town, about 5 km from Kandy. There he was waiting to receive the casket which contained the tooth relic.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, Incident, Account of Adhikari
But the plan did not succeed. From what he learnt, two girls had gone past the checkpoint near the entrance, without being properly searched, and waited for the others to follow. This has aroused the suspicion of a guard, and he had come towards the girls. By this time, members of the group had arrived in the scene; snatched the guns hidden inside the flowers on the tray; and shot at the guards. Guards had returned fire. The following firefight left at least two attackers dead.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, Incident, Account of K.G. Sisira
Sisira was employed as a labourer of the Kandy Municipal Council at the time the incident has happened. At that moment, he was travelling on a bus, near the temple. The driver stopped the bus amid the confusion, in front of the shrine. Then Sisira he saw a person wearing a blue T-shirt, chasing a guard, who came running into the bus and boarded. Then the pursuer, who was carrying a gun, shot randomly and hit Sisira in his right leg. In the subsequent shooting spree, the pursuer had died. Sisira was taken to a hospital, where 4 bullets were removed from his leg. His was hospitalised for 8 months and had his leg amputated.


1989 Temple of the Tooth attack, 2001 controversy
In the run-up to the 2001 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, the issue of the responsibility of this attack surfaced again. The party leader Somawansa Amarasinghe and then JVP propaganda secretary Wimal Weerawansa, denied the involvement of JVP in the incident. The politburo of the party issued a statement denying that the attack ever took place. These statements were rejected by the then Diyawadana Nilame (the chief lay custodian of Temple of the Tooth), Neranjan Wijeyeratne, and Mahanayaka theros of Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters (chief Buddhist prelates of the country). Wijeyeratne said "There was blood-letting at the Sri Dalada Maligawa [Temple of the Tooth] as five persons were killed in the JVP attack". The controversy turned into a major political issue during the campaign.


1989 Tennent's Sixes
The 1989 Tennents' Sixes was the sixth staging of the indoor 6-a-side football tournament. For the fourth time it was held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow on 22 and 23 January.


1989 Tennent's Sixes
The format had been reverted to 2 groups of five as the number of Premier Division clubs had been reduced to 10 at the start of the 1988-89 season and all the clubs from the tier competed.


1989 Tennent's Sixes
The two group winners and runners-up qualified to the semi-finals which included the Old Firm playing together and Rangers beat Motherwell 2–1 in the final to win their second Sixes title.


1989 Tennessee Volunteers football team
The 1989 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his 13th year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of eleven wins and one loss (11–1 overall, 6–1 in the SEC), as SEC co-champion, and with a victory over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl Classic. The Volunteers offense scored 346 points while the defense allowed 217 points.


1989 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 1989 Texas A&M Aggies football team completed the season with an 8–4 record. The Aggies had a regular season Southwest Conference record of 6–2.


1989 Texas Longhorns baseball team
The 1989 Texas Longhorns baseball team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1989 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Longhorns played their home games at Disch–Falk Field. The team was coached by Cliff Gustafson in his 22nd season at Texas.


1989 Texas Longhorns baseball team
The Longhorns reached the College World Series final, but were eliminated by Wichita State.


1989 Texas Longhorns football team
The 1989 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Longhorns finished the season with a 5–6 record.


1989 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers 1989 season involved the Rangers finishing fourth in the American League West with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses.


1989 Texas Rangers season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1989 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team
The 1989 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third season under head coach Spike Dykes, the Red Raiders compiled a 9–3 record (5–3 against SWC opponents), finished in fourth place in the conference, outscored opponents by a combined total of 360 to 281, defeated Duke in the 1989 All-American Bowl, and were ranked No. 19 in the final AP Poll. The team played its home games at Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.


1989 The Citadel Bulldogs football team
The 1989 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Charlie Taaffe served as head coach for the third season. The Bulldogs played as members of the Southern Conference and played home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The 1989 season was affected by Hurricane Hugo, which damaged Johnson Hagood Stadium as the eye of the storm passed over Charleston harbor before making its way inland. As a result, The Citadel played two "home" games at Williams-Brice Stadium, on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. The hurricane struck on September 22, 1989, and the Bulldogs did not play a game again in their home stadium until November 4, 1989.


1989 The Winston
The 1989 edition of The Winston was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 21, 1989. Held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the 135-lap race was an exhibition race in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Terry Labonte of Junior Johnson & Associates won the pole, but it was Rusty Wallace of Blue Max Racing who led the most laps (69) and won the race to collect US$240,000 after spinning Darrell Waltrip of Hendrick Motorsports out before the final lap.


1989 The Winston, Background
The Winston was open to race winners from last season through the 1989 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Because the field did not meet the minimum requirement of 19 cars, the remaining spots were awarded to the most recent winning drivers prior to the 1988 season.


1989 The Winston, Race summary, Race 1 (75 laps)
Terry Labonte won the pole while Dale Earnhardt took the outside pole. Sterling Marlin made the starting grid by winning the Winston Open for the second year in the row. Darrell Waltrip and Kyle Petty served as the onboard camera cars throughout the race. Upon the waving of the green flag, Labonte had a good start while Rusty Wallace challenged Earnhardt for second place, but Earnhardt gained momentum and overtook Labonte to lead the first lap. Wallace and Alan Kulwicki zipped past Labonte, who then started losing positions to Geoff Bodine and Waltrip by the second lap.


1989 The Winston, Race summary, Race 1 (75 laps)
As Wallace closed in on Earnhardt, the first caution flag waved after Kyle Petty crashed on the turn three wall and Richard Petty spun out of control; the younger Petty was rushed to the hospital with only minor bruises. Earnhardt was forced to restart at the back of the field after his right front tire was punctured by the debris. Wallace led the field with Kulwicki and Waltrip behind him while Davey Allison and Bill Elliott overtook Labonte and Earnhardt inched his way back in the top 10. In the end, Wallace took the checkered flag and collected US$20,000.


1989 The Winston, Race summary, Race 2 (50 laps)
Wallace led the field on the single-line restart, but Waltrip passed him from the outside after the first three laps. Morgan Shepherd retired on lap 83 after his engine overheated. Waltrip won the 50-lap segment to collect US$20,000


1989 The Winston, Race summary, Race 3 (10 laps)
Waltrip led the field in the 10-lap shootout. He continued his lead while Wallace closed in on him. With two laps to go, Wallace tapped Waltrip on the left rear, sending Waltrip spinning across the infield grass and triggering the caution. It was decided by NASCAR that the restart would be a two-lap dash, which Wallace won to collect a combined US$240,000, including the US$200,000 prize for the final segment.


1989 The Winston, Race summary, Race 3 (10 laps)
After the race, a fight ensued between the pit crews of Wallace and Waltrip as Wallace made his way to Victory Lane. Furious over the outcome of the race, Waltrip commented: "I just hope he chokes on that $200,000 that's all i can tell."


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
The Tiananmen Square protests, known as the June Fourth Incident (Chinese: 六四事件; pinyin: liùsì shìjiàn) in China, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre (Chinese: 天安门大屠杀; pinyin: Tiān'ānmén dà túshā), troops armed with assault rifles and accompanied by tanks fired at the demonstrators and those trying to block the military's advance into Tiananmen Square. The protests started on April 15 and were forcibly suppressed on June 4 when the government declared martial law and sent the People's Liberation Army to occupy parts of central Beijing. Estimates of the death toll vary from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded. The popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests is sometimes called the '89 Democracy Movement (Chinese: 八九民运; pinyin: Bājiǔ mínyùn) or the Tiananmen Square Incident (Chinese: 天安门事件; pinyin: Tiān'ānmén shìjiàn).


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
The protests were precipitated by the death of pro-reform Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary Hu Yaobang in April 1989 amid the backdrop of rapid economic development and social change in post-Mao China, reflecting anxieties among the people and political elite about the country's future. The reforms of the 1980s had led to a nascent market economy that benefited some people but seriously disadvantaged others, and the one-party political system also faced a challenge to its legitimacy. Common grievances at the time included inflation, corruption, limited preparedness of graduates for the new economy, and restrictions on political participation. Although they were highly disorganized and their goals varied, the students called for greater accountability, constitutional due process, democracy, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. At the height of the protests, about one million people assembled in the Square.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
As the protests developed, the authorities responded with both conciliatory and hardline tactics, exposing deep divisions within the party leadership. By May, a student-led hunger strike galvanized support around the country for the demonstrators, and the protests spread to some 400 cities. Among the CCP top leadership, Premier Li Peng and Party Elders Li Xiannian and Wang Zhen called for decisive action through violent suppression of the protesters, and ultimately managed to win over Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping and President Yang Shangkun to their side. On May 20, the State Council declared martial law.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
They mobilized as many as ~300,000 troops to Beijing. The troops advanced into central parts of Beijing on the city's major thoroughfares in the early morning hours of June 4, killing both demonstrators and bystanders in the process. The military operations were under the overall command of General Yang Baibing, half-brother of President Yang Shangkun.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
The international community, human rights organizations, and political analysts condemned the Chinese government for the massacre. Western countries imposed arms embargoes on China. The Chinese government made widespread arrests of protesters and their supporters, suppressed other protests around China, expelled foreign journalists, strictly controlled coverage of the events in the domestic press, strengthened the police and internal security forces, and demoted or purged officials it deemed sympathetic to the protests.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
More broadly, the suppression ended the political reforms begun in 1986 and halted the policies of liberalization of the 1980s, which were only partly resumed after Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour in 1992. Considered a watershed event, reaction to the protests set limits on political expression in China, limits that have lasted up to the present day. Remembering the protests is widely associated with questioning the legitimacy of Communist Party rule and remains one of the most sensitive and most widely censored topics in China.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Naming
Chinese conventionally date events by the name or number of the month and the day, followed by the event type. Thus, the common Chinese name for the crackdown is "June Fourth Incident" (Chinese: 六四事件; pinyin: liùsì shìjiàn). The nomenclature is consistent with the customary names of the other two great protests that occurred in Tiananmen Square: the May Fourth Movement of 1919 and the April Fifth Movement of 1976.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Naming
June Fourth refers to the day on which the People's Liberation Army cleared Tiananmen Square of protesters, although actual operations began on the evening of June 3. Names such as June Fourth Movement (六四运动; liù-sì yùndòng) and '89 Democracy Movement (八九民运; bā-jiǔ mínyùn) are used to describe an event in its entirety.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Naming
The Chinese Communist Party has used numerous names for the event since 1989, gradually using more neutral terminology. As the events unfolded, it was labeled a "counterrevolutionary riot", which was later changed to simply "riot", followed by "political storm". Finally, the leadership settled on the more neutral phrase "political turmoil between the Spring and Summer of 1989", which it uses to this day.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Naming
Outside mainland China, and among circles critical of the crackdown within mainland China, the crackdown is commonly referred to in Chinese as "June Fourth Massacre" (六四屠殺; liù-sì túshā) and "June Fourth Crackdown" (六四鎮壓; liù-sì zhènyā). To bypass internet censorship in China, which uniformly considers all the above-mentioned names too "sensitive" for search engines and public forums, alternative names have sprung up to describe the events on the Internet, such as May 35th, VIIV (Roman numerals for 6 and 4), Eight Squared (i.e. 82=64) and 8964 (i.e. yymd).


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Naming
In English, the terms "Tiananmen Square Massacre", "Tiananmen Square Protests", and "Tiananmen Square Crackdown" are often used to describe the series of events. However, much of the violence in Beijing did not actually happen in Tiananmen, but outside the square along a stretch of Chang'an Avenue only a few miles long, and especially near the Muxidi area. The term also gives a misleading impression that demonstrations only happened in Beijing, when in fact, they occurred in many cities throughout China.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Boluan Fanzheng and economic reforms
The Cultural Revolution ended with chairman Mao Zedong's death in 1976 and the arrest of the Gang of Four. That movement, spearheaded by Mao, caused severe damage to the country's initially diverse economic and social fabric. The country was mired in poverty as economic production slowed or came to a halt. Political ideology was paramount in the lives of ordinary people as well as the inner workings of the Communist Party itself.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Boluan Fanzheng and economic reforms
In September 1977, Deng Xiaoping proposed the idea of Boluan Fanzheng ("bringing order out of chaos") to correct the mistakes of the Cultural Revolution. At the Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee, in December 1978, Deng emerged as China's de facto leader. He launched a comprehensive program to reform the Chinese economy (Reforms and Opening-up). Within several years, the country's focus on ideological purity was replaced by a concerted attempt to achieve material prosperity.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Boluan Fanzheng and economic reforms
To oversee his reform agenda, Deng promoted his allies to top government and party posts. Zhao Ziyang was named Premier, the head of government, in September 1980, and Hu Yaobang became General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1982.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Challenges to Reforms and Opening-up
Deng's reforms aimed to decrease the state's role in the economy and gradually allow private production in agriculture and industry. By 1981, roughly 73% of rural farms had been de-collectivized, and 80% of state-owned enterprises were permitted to retain their profits. Within a few years, production increased, and poverty was substantially reduced.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Challenges to Reforms and Opening-up
While the reforms were generally well received by the public, concerns grew over a series of social problems which the changes brought about, including corruption and nepotism on the part of elite party bureaucrats. The state-mandated pricing system, in place since the 1950s, had long kept prices fixed at low levels. The initial reforms created a two-tier system where some prices were fixed while others were allowed to fluctuate. In a market with chronic shortages, price fluctuation allowed people with powerful connections to buy goods at low prices and sell at market prices. Party bureaucrats in charge of economic management had enormous incentives to engage in such arbitrage. Discontent over corruption reached a fever pitch with the public; and many, particularly intellectuals, began to believe that only democratic reform and the rule of law could cure the country's ills.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Challenges to Reforms and Opening-up
Following the 1988 meeting at their summer retreat of Beidaihe, the party leadership under Deng agreed to implement a transition to a market-based pricing system. News of the relaxation of price controls triggered waves of cash withdrawals, buying, and hoarding all over China. The government panicked and rescinded the price reforms in less than two weeks, but there was a pronounced impact for much longer. Inflation soared: official indices reported that the Consumer Price Index increased by 30% in Beijing between 1987 and 1988, leading to panic among salaried workers that they could no longer afford staple goods. Moreover, in the new market economy, unprofitable state-owned enterprises were pressured to cut costs. This threatened a vast proportion of the population that relied on the "iron rice bowl": i.e., social benefits such as job security, medical care, and subsidized housing.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Social disenfranchisement and legitimacy crisis
In 1978, reformist leaders envisioned that intellectuals would play a leading role in guiding the country through reforms, but this did not happen as planned. Despite the opening of new universities and increased enrollment, the state-directed education system did not produce enough graduates to meet increased demand in the areas of agriculture, light industry, services, and foreign investment. The job market was especially limited for students specializing in social sciences and the humanities. Moreover, private companies no longer needed to accept students assigned to them by the state, and many high-paying jobs were offered based on nepotism and favoritism.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Social disenfranchisement and legitimacy crisis
Gaining a good state-assigned placement meant navigating a highly inefficient bureaucracy that gave power to officials who had little expertise in areas under their jurisdiction. Facing a dismal job market and limited chances of going abroad, intellectuals and students had a greater vested interest in political issues. Small study groups, such as the "Democracy Salon" (Chinese: 民主沙龙; pinyin: Mínzhǔ Shālóng) and the "Lawn Salon" (草坪沙龙; Cǎodì Shālóng), began appearing on Beijing university campuses. These organizations motivated the students to get involved politically.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Social disenfranchisement and legitimacy crisis
Simultaneously, the party's nominally socialist ideology faced a legitimacy crisis as it gradually adopted capitalist practices. Private enterprise gave rise to profiteers who took advantage of lax regulations and who often flaunted their wealth in front of those who were less well off. Popular discontent was brewing over unfair wealth distribution. Greed, not skill, appeared to be the most crucial factor in success. There was widespread public disillusionment concerning the country's future. People wanted change, yet the power to define "the correct path" continued to rest solely in the unelected government's hands.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Social disenfranchisement and legitimacy crisis
The comprehensive and wide-ranging reforms created political differences over the pace of marketization and the control over the ideology that came with it, opening a deep chasm within the central leadership. The reformers ("the right", led by Hu Yaobang) favored political liberalization and a plurality of ideas as a channel to voice popular discontent and pressed for further reforms. The conservatives ("the left", led by Chen Yun) said that the reforms had gone too far and advocated a return to greater state control to ensure social stability and to better align with the party's socialist ideology. Both sides needed the backing of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping to carry out important policy decisions.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, 1986 student demonstrations
In mid-1986, astrophysics professor Fang Lizhi returned from a position at Princeton University and began a personal tour of universities in China, speaking about liberty, human rights, and the separation of powers. Fang was part of a wide undercurrent within the elite intellectual community that thought China's poverty and underdevelopment, and the disaster of the Cultural Revolution, were a direct result of China's authoritarian political system and rigid command economy. The view that political reform was the only answer to China's ongoing problems gained widespread appeal among students, as Fang's recorded speeches became widely circulated throughout the country. In response, Deng Xiaoping warned that Fang was blindly worshipping Western lifestyles, capitalism, and multi-party systems while undermining China's socialist ideology, traditional values, and the party's leadership.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, 1986 student demonstrations
In December 1986, inspired by Fang and other "people-power" movements worldwide, student demonstrators staged protests against the slow pace of reform. The issues were wide-ranging and included demands for economic liberalization, democracy, and the rule of law. While the protests were initially contained in Hefei, where Fang lived, they quickly spread to Shanghai, Beijing, and other major cities. This alarmed the central leadership, who accused the students of instigating Cultural Revolution-style turmoil.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, 1986 student demonstrations
General Secretary Hu Yaobang was blamed for showing a "soft" attitude and mishandling the protests, thus undermining social stability. He was denounced thoroughly by conservatives and was forced to resign as general secretary on January 16, 1987. The party began the "Anti-bourgeois liberalization campaign", aiming at Hu, political liberalization, and Western-inspired ideas in general. The campaign stopped student protests and restricted political activity, but Hu remained popular among intellectuals, students, and Communist Party progressives.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Political reforms
On August 18, 1980, Deng Xiaoping gave a speech titled "On the Reform of the Party and State Leadership System" ("党和国家领导制度改革") at a full meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing, launching political reforms in China. He called for a systematic revision of China's constitution, criticizing bureaucracy, centralization of power, and patriarchy, while proposing term limits for the leading positions in China and advocating "democratic centralism" and "collective leadership." In December 1982, the fourth and current Constitution of China, known as the "1982 Constitution", was passed by the 5th National People's Congress.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Political reforms
In the first half of 1986, Deng repeatedly called for the revival of political reforms, as further economic reforms were hindered by the original political system with an increasing trend of corruption and economic inequality. A five-man committee to study the feasibility of political reform was established in September 1986; the members included Zhao Ziyang, Hu Qili, Tian Jiyun, Bo Yibo and Peng Chong. Deng's intention was to boost administrative efficiency, further separate responsibilities of the Party and the government, and eliminate bureaucracy. Although he spoke in terms of the rule of law and democracy, Deng delimited the reforms within the one-party system and opposed the implementation of Western-style constitutionalism.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Background, Political reforms
In October 1987, at the 13th National Congress of the CPC, Zhao Ziyang gave a report drafted by Bao Tong on the political reforms. In his speech titled "Advance Along the Road of Socialism with Chinese characteristics" ("沿着有中国特色的社会主义道路前进"), Zhao argued that socialism in China was still in its primary stage and, taking Deng's speech in 1980 as a guideline, detailed steps to be taken for political reform, including promoting the rule of law and the separation of powers, imposing de-centralization, and improving the election system. At this Congress, Zhao was elected to be the General Secretary of the CPC.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
When Hu Yaobang suddenly died of a heart attack on April 15, 1989, students reacted strongly, most of them believing that his death was related to his forced resignation. Hu's death provided the initial impetus for students to gather in large numbers. On university campuses, many posters appeared eulogizing Hu, calling for honoring Hu's legacy. Within days, most posters were about broader political issues, such as corruption, democracy, and freedom of the press. Small, spontaneous gatherings to mourn Hu began on April 15 around the Monument to the People's Heroes at Tiananmen Square.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
On the same day, many students at Peking University (PKU) and Tsinghua University erected shrines and joined the gathering in Tiananmen Square in a piecemeal fashion. Small, organized student gatherings also took place in Xi'an and Shanghai on April 16. On April 17, students at the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) made a large wreath to commemorate Hu Yaobang. Its wreath-laying ceremony was on April 17, and a larger-than-expected crowd assembled. At 5 pm, 500 CUPL students reached the eastern gate of the Great Hall of the People, near Tiananmen Square, to mourn Hu. The gathering featured speakers from various backgrounds who gave public orations commemorating Hu and discussed social problems. However, it was soon deemed obstructive to the Great Hall's operation, so police tried to persuade the students to disperse.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
Starting on the night of April 17, three thousand PKU students marched from the campus towards Tiananmen Square, and soon nearly a thousand students from Tsinghua joined. Upon arrival, they soon joined forces with those already gathered at the Square. As its size grew, the gathering gradually evolved into a protest, as students began to draft a list of pleas and suggestions (the Seven Demands) for the government:


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
On the morning of April 18, students remained in the Square. Some gathered around the Monument to the People's Heroes, singing patriotic songs and listening to student organizers' impromptu speeches. Others gathered at the Great Hall. Meanwhile, a few thousand students gathered at Xinhua Gate, the entrance to Zhongnanhai, the seat of the party leadership, where they demanded dialogue with the administration. After police restrained the students from entering the compound, they staged a sit-in.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
On April 20, most students had been persuaded to leave Xinhua Gate. To disperse about 200 students that remained, police used batons; minor clashes were reported. Many students felt abused by the police, and rumors about police brutality spread quickly. The incident angered students on campus, where those who were not politically active decided to join the protests. Additionally, a group of workers calling themselves the Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation issued two handbills challenging the central leadership.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
Hu's state funeral took place on April 22. On the evening of April 21, some 100,000 students marched on Tiananmen Square, ignoring orders from Beijing municipal authorities that the Square was to be closed for the funeral. The funeral, which took place inside the Great Hall and was attended by the leadership, was broadcast live to the students. General Secretary Zhao Ziyang delivered the eulogy. The funeral seemed rushed, lasting only 40 minutes, as emotions ran high in the Square.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
Security cordoned off the east entrance to the Great Hall of the People, but several students pressed forward. A few were allowed to cross the police line. Three of these students (Zhou Yongjun, Guo Haifeng, and Zhang Zhiyong) knelt on the steps of the Great Hall to present a petition and demanded to see Premier Li Peng. Standing beside them, a fourth student (Wu'erkaixi) made a brief, emotional speech begging for Li Peng to come out and speak with them.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
The larger number of students still in the Square but outside the cordon were at times emotional, shouting demands or slogans and rushing toward police. Wu'erkaixi calmed the crowd as they waited for the Premier to emerge. However, no leaders emerged from the Great Hall, leaving the students disappointed and angry; some called for a classroom boycott.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
On April 21, students began organizing under the banners of formal organizations. On April 23, in a meeting of around 40 students from 21 universities, the Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation (also known as the Union) was formed. It elected CUPL student Zhou Yongjun as chair. Wang Dan and Wu'erkaixi also emerged as leaders. The Union then called for a general classroom boycott at all Beijing universities. Such an independent organization operating outside of party jurisdiction alarmed the leadership.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
On April 22, near dusk, serious rioting broke out in Changsha and Xi'an. In Xi'an, arson by rioters destroyed cars and houses, and looting occurred in shops near the city's Xihua Gate. In Changsha, 38 stores were ransacked by looters. Over 350 people were arrested in both cities. In Wuhan, university students organized protests against the provincial government. As the situation became more volatile nationally, Zhao Ziyang called numerous meetings of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC).


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Death of Hu Yaobang
Zhao stressed three points: discourage students from further protests and ask them to go back to class, use all measures necessary to combat rioting, and open forms of dialogue with students at different levels of government. Premier Li Peng called upon Zhao to condemn protestors and recognize the need to take more serious action. Zhao dismissed Li's views. Despite calls for him to remain in Beijing, Zhao left for a scheduled state visit to North Korea on April 23.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Turning point: April 26 Editorial
Zhao's departure to North Korea left Li Peng as the acting executive authority in Beijing. On April 24, Li Peng and the PSC met with Beijing Party Secretary Li Ximing and mayor Chen Xitong to gauge the situation at the Square. The municipal officials wanted a quick resolution to the crisis and framed the protests as a conspiracy to overthrow China's political system and prominent party leaders, including Deng Xiaoping. In Zhao's absence, the PSC agreed to take firm action against the protesters.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Turning point: April 26 Editorial
On the morning of April 25, President Yang Shangkun and Premier Li Peng met with Deng at the latter's residence. Deng endorsed a hardline stance and said an appropriate warning must be disseminated via mass media to curb further demonstrations. The meeting firmly established the first official evaluation of the protests, and highlighted Deng's having "final say" on important issues. Li Peng subsequently ordered Deng's views to be drafted as a communique and issued to all high-level Communist Party officials to mobilize the party apparatus against protesters.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, Turning point: April 26 Editorial
On April 26, the party's official newspaper People's Daily issued a front-page editorial titled "It is necessary to take a clear-cut stand against disturbances". The language in the editorial effectively branded the student movement to be an anti-party, anti-government revolt. The editorial invoked memories of the Cultural Revolution, using similar rhetoric that had been used during the 1976 Tiananmen Incident—an event that was initially branded an anti-government conspiracy but was later rehabilitated as "patriotic" under Deng's leadership. The article enraged students, who interpreted it as a direct indictment of the protests and its cause. The editorial backfired: instead of scaring students into submission, it antagonized the students and put them squarely against the government. The editorial's polarizing nature made it a major sticking point for the remainder of the protests.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, April 27 demonstrations
Organized by the Union, on April 27, some 50,000–100,000 students from all Beijing universities marched through the streets of the capital to Tiananmen Square, breaking through lines set up by police, and receiving widespread public support along the way, particularly from factory workers. The student leaders, eager to show the patriotic nature of the movement, also toned down anti-Communist slogans, choosing to present a message of "anti-corruption" and "anti-cronyism", but "pro-party". In a twist of irony, student factions who genuinely called for the overthrow of the Communist Party gained traction due to the April 26 editorial.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, April 27 demonstrations
The stunning success of the march forced the government into making concessions and meeting with student representatives. On April 29, State Council spokesman Yuan Mu met with appointed representatives of government-sanctioned student associations. While the talks discussed a wide range of issues, including the editorial, the Xinhua Gate incident, and freedom of the press, they achieved few substantive results. Independent student leaders such as Wu'erkaixi refused to attend.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, April 27 demonstrations
The government's tone grew increasingly conciliatory when Zhao Ziyang returned from Pyongyang on April 30 and reasserted his authority. In Zhao's view, the hardliner approach was not working, and the concession was the only alternative. Zhao asked that the press be allowed to positively report the movement and delivered two sympathetic speeches on May 3–4. In the speeches, Zhao said that the students' concerns about corruption were legitimate and that the student movement was patriotic in nature. The speeches essentially negated the message presented by the April 26 Editorial.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Beginning of the 1989 protests, April 27 demonstrations
While some 100,000 students marched on the streets of Beijing on May 4 to commemorate the May Fourth Movement and repeated demands from earlier marches, many students were satisfied with the government's concessions. On May 4, all Beijing universities except PKU and BNU announced the end of the classroom boycott. Subsequently, most students began to lose interest in the movement.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Preparing for dialogue
The government was divided on how to respond to the movement as early as mid-April. After Zhao Ziyang's return from North Korea, tensions between the progressive camp and the conservative camp intensified. Those who supported continued dialogue and a soft approach with students rallied behind Zhao Ziyang, while hardliner conservatives opposed the movement rallied behind Premier Li Peng. Zhao and Li clashed at a PSC meeting on May 1. Li maintained that the need for stability overrode all else, while Zhao said that the party should show support for increased democracy and transparency. Zhao pushed the case for further dialogue.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Preparing for dialogue
In preparation for dialogue, the Union elected representatives to a formal delegation. However, there was some friction as the Union leaders were reluctant to let the delegation unilaterally take control of the movement. The movement was slowed by a change to a more deliberate approach, fractured by internal discord, and increasingly diluted by declining engagement from the student body at large. In this context, a group of charismatic leaders, including Wang Dan and Wu'erkaixi, desired to regain momentum.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Preparing for dialogue
They also distrusted the government's offers of dialogue, dismissing them as merely a ploy designed to play for time and pacify the students. To break from the moderate and incremental approach now adopted by other major student leaders, these few began calling for a return to more confrontational tactics. They settled on a plan of mobilizing students for a hunger strike that would begin on May 13. Early attempts to mobilize others to join them met with only modest success until Chai Ling made an emotional appeal on the night before the strike was scheduled to begin.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Hunger strikes begin
Students began the hunger strike on May 13, two days before the highly publicized state visit by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Knowing that Gorbachev's welcoming ceremony was scheduled to be held on the Square, student leaders wanted to use the hunger strike to force the government into meeting their demands. Moreover, the hunger strike gained widespread sympathy from the population at large and earned the student movement the moral high ground that it sought. By the afternoon of May 13, some 300,000 were gathered at the Square.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Hunger strikes begin
Inspired by the events in Beijing, protests and strikes began at universities in other cities, with many students traveling to Beijing to join the demonstration. Generally, the Tiananmen Square demonstration was well ordered, with daily marches of students from various Beijing-area colleges displaying their support of the classroom boycott and the protesters' demands. The students sang The Internationale, the world socialist anthem, on their way to, and while at, the square.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Hunger strikes begin
Afraid that the movement would spin out of control, Deng Xiaoping ordered the Square to be cleared for Gorbachev's visit. Executing Deng's request, Zhao again used a soft approach and directed his subordinates to coordinate negotiations with students immediately. Zhao believed he could appeal to the students' patriotism. The students understood that signs of internal turmoil during the Sino-Soviet summit would embarrass the nation and not just the government.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Hunger strikes begin
On the morning of May 13, Yan Mingfu, head of the Communist Party's United Front, called an emergency meeting, gathering prominent student leaders and intellectuals, including Liu Xiaobo, Chen Ziming, and Wang Juntao. Yan said that the government was prepared to hold an immediate dialogue with student representatives. The Tiananmen welcoming ceremony for Gorbachev would be canceled whether or not the students withdrew—in effect removing the bargaining power the students thought they possessed. The announcement sent the student leadership into disarray.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Mikhail Gorbachev's visit
Press restrictions were loosened significantly from early to mid-May. State media began broadcasting footage sympathetic to protesters and the movement, including the hunger strikers. On May 14, intellectuals led by Dai Qing gained permission from Hu Qili to bypass government censorship and air the progressive views of the nation's intellectuals in the Guangming Daily. The intellectuals then issued an urgent appeal for the students to leave the Square in an attempt to deescalate the conflict. However, many students believed that the intellectuals were speaking for the government and refused to move.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Mikhail Gorbachev's visit
That evening, formal negotiations took place between government representatives led by Yan Mingfu and student representatives led by Shen Tong and Xiang Xiaoji. Yan affirmed the student movement's patriotic nature and pleaded for the students to withdraw from the Square. While Yan's apparent sincerity for compromise satisfied some students, the meeting grew increasingly chaotic as competing student factions relayed uncoordinated and incoherent demands to the leadership. Shortly after student leaders learned that the event had not been broadcast nationally, as initially promised by the government, the meeting fell apart.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Mikhail Gorbachev's visit
Yan then personally went to the Square to appeal to the students, even offering himself to be held hostage. Yan also took the student's pleas to Li Peng the next day, asking Li to consider formally retracting the April 26 Editorial and rebranding the movement as "patriotic and democratic"; Li refused.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Mikhail Gorbachev's visit
The students remained in the Square during the Gorbachev visit; his welcoming ceremony was held at the airport. The Sino-Soviet summit, the first of its kind in some 30 years, marked the normalization of Sino-Soviet relations and was seen as a breakthrough of tremendous historical significance for China's leaders. However, its smooth proceedings were derailed by the student movement; this created a major embarrassment ("loss of face") for the leadership on the global stage, and drove many moderates in government onto a more hardline path.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Mikhail Gorbachev's visit
The summit between Deng and Gorbachev took place at the Great Hall of the People amid the backdrop of commotion and protest in the Square. When Gorbachev met with Zhao on May 16, Zhao told him, and by extension the international press, that Deng was still the "paramount authority" in China. Deng felt that this remark was Zhao's attempt to shift blame for mishandling the movement to him.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Mikhail Gorbachev's visit
Zhao's defense against this accusation was that privately informing world leaders that Deng was the true center of power was standard operating procedure; Li Peng had made nearly identical private statements to US president George H.W. Bush in February 1989. Nevertheless, the statement marked a decisive split between the country's two most senior leaders.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
The hunger strike galvanized support for the students and aroused sympathy across the country. Around a million Beijing residents from all walks of life demonstrated in solidarity from May 17 to 18. These included PLA personnel, police officers, and lower party officials. Many grassroots Party and Youth League organizations, as well as government-sponsored labor unions, encouraged their membership to demonstrate. Besides, several of China's non-Communist parties sent a letter to Li Peng to support the students. The Chinese Red Cross issued a special notice and sent in many personnel to provide medical services to the hunger strikers on the Square. After the departure of Mikhail Gorbachev, many foreign journalists remained in the Chinese capital to cover the protests, shining an international spotlight on the movement. Western governments urged Beijing to exercise restraint.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
The movement, on the wane at the end of April, now regained momentum. By May 17, as students from across the country poured into the capital to join the movement, protests of various sizes occurred in some 400 Chinese cities. Students demonstrated at provincial party headquarters in Fujian, Hubei, and Xinjiang. Without a clearly articulated official position from the Beijing leadership, local authorities did not know how to respond.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
Because the demonstrations now included a wide array of social groups, each having its own set of grievances, it became increasingly unclear with whom the government should negotiate and what the demands were. The government, still split on how to deal with the movement, saw its authority and legitimacy gradually erode as the hunger strikers took the limelight and gained widespread sympathy. These combined circumstances put immense pressure on the authorities to act, and martial law was discussed as an appropriate response.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
The situation seemed intractable, and the weight of taking decisive action fell on paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. Matters came to a head on May 17 during a Politburo Standing Committee meeting at Deng's residence. At the meeting, Zhao Ziyang's concessions-based strategy, which called for the retraction of the April 26 Editorial, was thoroughly criticized. Li Peng, Yao Yilin, and Deng asserted that by making a conciliatory speech to the Asian Development Bank, on May 4, Zhao had exposed divisions within the top leadership and emboldened the students.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
Deng warned that "there is no way to back down now without the situation spiraling out of control", and so "the decision is to move troops into Beijing to declare martial law" as a show of the government's no-tolerance stance. To justify martial law, the demonstrators were described as tools of "bourgeois liberalism" advocates who were pulling strings behind the scenes, as well as tools of elements within the party who wished to further their personal ambitions.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
For the rest of his life, Zhao Ziyang maintained that the decision was ultimately in Deng's hands: among the five PSC members present at the meeting, he and Hu Qili opposed the imposition of martial law, Li Peng and Yao Yilin firmly supported it, and Qiao Shi remained carefully neutral and noncommittal. Deng appointed the latter three to carry out the decision.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
On the evening of May 17, the PSC met at Zhongnanhai to finalize plans for martial law. At the meeting, Zhao announced that he was ready to "take leave", citing he could not bring himself to carry out martial law. The elders in attendance at the meeting, Bo Yibo and Yang Shangkun, urged the PSC to follow Deng's orders. Zhao did not consider the inconclusive PSC vote to have legally binding implications for martial law; Yang Shangkun, in his capacity as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, mobilized the military to move into the capital.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
Li Peng met with students for the first time on May 18 in an attempt to placate public concern over the hunger strike. During the talks, student leaders again demanded that the government rescind the April 26 Editorial and affirm the student movement as "patriotic". Li Peng said the government's main concern was sending the hunger strikers to hospitals. The discussions were confrontational and yielded little substantive progress, but gained student leaders prominent airtime on national television. By this point, those calling for the overthrow of the party and Li Peng and Deng became prominent both in Beijing and in other cities. Slogans targeted Deng personally, for instance calling him the "power behind the throne".


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
In the early morning of May 19, Zhao Ziyang went to Tiananmen in what became his political swan song. He was accompanied by Wen Jiabao. Li Peng also went to the Square but left shortly thereafter. At 4:50 am Zhao made a speech with a bullhorn to a crowd of students, urging them to end the hunger strike. He told the students that they were still young and urged them to stay healthy and not to sacrifice themselves without due concern for their futures. Zhao's emotional speech was applauded by some students. It would be his last public appearance.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
Students, we came too late. We are sorry. You talk about us, criticize us, it is all necessary. The reason that I came here is not to ask you to forgive us. All I want to say is that students are getting very weak. It is the 7th day since you went on a hunger strike. You can't continue like this. [ ...] You are still young, there are still many days yet to come, you must live healthily, and see the day when China accomplishes the Four Modernizations. You are not like us. We are already old. It doesn't matter to us anymore.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Gathering momentum
On May 19, the PSC met with military leaders and party elders. Deng presided over the meeting and said that martial law was the only option. At the meeting, Deng declared that he was "mistaken" in choosing Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang as his successors and resolved to remove Zhao from his position as general secretary. Deng also vowed to deal resolutely with Zhao's supporters and begin propaganda work.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Surveillance of protesters
Student leaders were put under close surveillance by the authorities; traffic cameras were used to perform surveillance on the square; and nearby restaurants, and wherever students gathered, were wiretapped. This surveillance led to the identification, capture, and punishment of protest participants. After the massacre, the government did thorough interrogations at work units, institutions, and schools to identify who had been at the protest.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Outside Beijing
University students in Shanghai also took to the streets to commemorate Hu Yaobang's death and protest against certain government policies. In many cases, these were supported by the universities' own party cells. Jiang Zemin, then–Municipal Party Secretary, addressed the student protesters in a bandage and "expressed his understanding", as he was a student agitator before 1949. Simultaneously, he moved swiftly to send in police forces to control the streets and purge Communist Party leaders who had supported the students.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Outside Beijing
On April 19, the editors of the World Economic Herald, a magazine close to reformists, decided to publish a commemorative section on Hu. Inside was an article by Yan Jiaqi, which commented favorably on the Beijing student protests, and called for a reassessment of Hu's 1987 purge. Sensing the conservative political trends in Beijing, Jiang Zemin demanded that the article be censored, and many newspapers were printed with a blank page. Jiang then suspended lead editor Qin Benli, his decisive action earning the trust of conservative party elders, who praised Jiang's loyalty.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Escalation of the protests, Outside Beijing
In Hong Kong on May 27, over 300,000 people gathered at Happy Valley Racecourse for a gathering called the Concert for Democracy in China (Chinese: 民主歌聲獻中華). Many Hong Kong celebrities sang songs and expressed their support for the students in Beijing. The following day, a procession of 1.5 million people, one fourth of Hong Kong's population, led by Martin Lee, Szeto Wah, and other organization leaders, paraded through Hong Kong Island. Across the world, especially where ethnic Chinese lived, people gathered and protested. Many governments, including those of the United States and Japan, issued travel warnings against traveling to China.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, Martial law
The Chinese government declared martial law on May 20 and mobilized at least 30 divisions from five of the country's seven military regions. At least 14 of the PLA's 24 army corps contributed troops. As many as 250,000 troops were eventually sent to the capital, some arriving by air and others by rail. Guangzhou's civil aviation authorities suspended civil airline travel to prepare for transporting military units.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, Martial law
The army's entry into the capital was blocked in the suburbs by throngs of protesters. Tens of thousands of demonstrators surrounded military vehicles, preventing them from either advancing or retreating. Protesters lectured soldiers and appealed to them to join their cause; they also provided soldiers with food, water, and shelter. Seeing no way forward, the authorities ordered the army to withdraw on May 24. All government forces then retreated to bases outside the city. While the army's withdrawal was initially seen as "turning the tide" in favor of protesters, in reality, mobilization was taking place across the country for a final assault.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, Martial law
At the same time, internal divisions intensified within the student movement itself. By late May, the students became increasingly disorganized with no clear leadership or unified course of action. Moreover, Tiananmen Square was overcrowded and facing serious hygiene problems. Hou Dejian suggested an open election of the student leadership to speak for the movement but was met with opposition. Meanwhile, Wang Dan moderated his position, ostensibly sensing the impending military action and its consequences.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, Martial law
He advocated for a temporary withdrawal from Tiananmen Square to re-group on campus, but this was opposed by hardline student factions who wanted to hold the Square. The increasing internal friction would lead to struggles for control of the loudspeakers in the middle of the square in a series of "mini-coups": whoever controlled the loudspeakers was "in charge" of the movement. Some students would wait at the train station to greet arrivals of students from other parts of the country in an attempt to enlist factional support.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, Martial law
Student groups began accusing each other of ulterior motives, such as collusion with the government and trying to gain personal fame from the movement. Some students even tried to oust Chai Ling, and Feng Congde from their leadership positions in an attempted kidnapping, an action Chai called a "well-organized and premeditated plot".


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 1–3
On June 1, Li Peng issued a report titled "On the True Nature of the Turmoil", which was circulated to every member of the Politburo. The report aimed to persuade the Politburo of the necessity and legality of clearing Tiananmen Square by referring to the protestors as terrorists and counterrevolutionaries. The report stated that turmoil was continuing to grow, the students had no plans to leave, and they were gaining popular support. Further justification for martial law came in the form of a report submitted by the Ministry of State Security (MSS) to the party leadership.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 1–3
The report emphasized the danger of infiltration of bourgeois liberalism into China and the negative effect that the West, particularly the United States, had on the students. The MSS expressed its belief that American forces had intervened in the student movement in hopes of overthrowing the Communist Party. The report created a sense of urgency within the party and justified military action. In conjunction with the plan to clear the Square by force, the Politburo received word from army headquarters stating that troops were ready to help stabilize the capital and that they understood the necessity and legality of martial law to overcome the turmoil.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 1–3
On June 2, with increasing action on the part of protesters, the CPC saw that it was time to act. Protests broke out as newspapers published articles that called for the students to leave Tiananmen Square and end the movement. Many of the students in the Square were not willing to leave and were outraged by the articles. They were also outraged by the Beijing Daily's June 1 article "Tiananmen, I Cry for You", which was written by a fellow student who had become disillusioned with the movement, as he thought it was chaotic and disorganized. In response to the articles, thousands of students lined the streets of Beijing to protest against leaving the Square.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 1–3
Three intellectuals—Liu Xiaobo, Zhou Duo, and Gao Xin—and Taiwanese singer Hou Dejian declared a second hunger strike to revive the movement. After weeks of occupying the Square, the students were tired, and internal rifts opened between moderate and hardline student groups. In their declaration speech, the hunger strikers openly criticized the government's suppression of the movement, to remind the students that their cause was worth fighting for, and pushing them to continue their occupation of the Square.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 1–3
On June 2, Deng Xiaoping and several party elders met with the three PSC members—Li Peng, Qiao Shi, and Yao Yilin—who remained after Zhao Ziyang and Hu Qili had been ousted. The committee members agreed to clear the Square so "the riot can be halted and order be restored to the Capital". They also agreed that the Square needed to be cleared as peacefully as possible; but if protesters did not cooperate, the troops would be authorized to use force to complete the job. That day, state-run newspapers reported that troops were positioned in ten key areas in the city. Units of the 27th, 65th, and 24th armies were secretly moved into the Great Hall of the People on the west side of the Square and the Ministry of Public Security compound east of the Square.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 1–3
On the evening of June 2, reports that an army trencher ran over four civilians, killing three, sparked fear that the army and the police were trying to advance into Tiananmen Square. Student leaders issued emergency orders to set up roadblocks at major intersections to prevent the entry of troops into the center of the city.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 1–3
On the morning of June 3, students and residents discovered troops dressed in plainclothes trying to smuggle weapons into the city. The students seized and handed the weapons to Beijing police. The students protested outside the Xinhua Gate of the Zhongnanhai leadership compound, and the police fired tear gas. Unarmed troops emerged from the Great Hall of the People and were quickly met with crowds of protesters. Protesters stoned the police, forcing them to retreat inside the Zhongnanhai compound, while 5,000 unarmed soldiers attempting to advance to the Square were forced by protesters to retreat temporarily.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 1–3
At 4:30 pm on June 3, the three PSC members met with military leaders, Beijing Party Secretary Li Ximing, mayor Chen Xitong, and a member of the State Council secretariat Luo Gan, and finalized the order for the enforcement of martial law:


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 1–3
The order did not explicitly contain a shoot-to-kill directive, but permission to "use any means" was understood by some units as authorization to use lethal force. That evening, the government leaders monitored the operation from the Great Hall of the People and Zhongnanhai.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 3–4
On the evening of June 3, state-run television warned residents to stay indoors; but crowds of people took to the streets, as they had two weeks before, to block the incoming army. PLA units advanced on Beijing from every direction—the 38th, 63rd, and 28th armies from the west; the 15th Airborne Corps, 20th, 26th, and 54th armies from the south; the 39th Army and the 1st Armored Division from the east; and the 40th and 64th armies from the north.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 3–4, Chang'an Avenue
At about 10 pm the 38th Army began to fire into the air as they traveled east on West Chang'an Avenue toward the city center. They initially intended the warning shots to frighten and disperse the large crowds gathering. This attempt failed. The earliest casualties occurred as far west as Wukesong, where Song Xiaoming, a 32-year-old aerospace technician, was the first confirmed fatality of the night. Several minutes later, when the convoy encountered a substantial blockade east of the 3rd Ring Road, they opened automatic rifle fire directly at protesters. The crowds were stunned that the army was using live ammunition and reacted by hurling insults and projectiles. The troops used expanding bullets, prohibited by international law for use in warfare between countries but not for other uses.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 3–4, Chang'an Avenue
At about 10:30 pm, the advance of the army was briefly halted at Muxidi, about 5 km west of the Square, where articulated trolleybuses were placed across a bridge and set on fire. Crowds of residents from nearby apartment blocks tried to surround the military convoy and halt its advance. The 38th Army again opened fire, inflicting heavy casualties. According to the tabulation of victims by Tiananmen Mothers, 36 people died at Muxidi, including Wang Weiping, a doctor tending to the wounded.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 3–4, Chang'an Avenue
As the battle continued eastward, the firing became indiscriminate, with "random, stray patterns" killing both protesters and uninvolved bystanders. Several were killed in the apartments of high-ranking party officials overlooking the boulevard. Soldiers raked the apartment buildings with gunfire, and some people inside or on their balconies were shot. The 38th Army also used armored personnel carriers (APCs) to ram through the buses. They continued to fight off demonstrators, who hastily erected barricades and tried to form human chains. As the army advanced, fatalities were recorded along Chang'an Avenue. By far, the largest number occurred in the two-mile stretch of road running from Muxidi to Xidan, where "65 PLA trucks and 47 APCs ... were totally destroyed, and 485 other military vehicles were damaged."


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 3–4, Chang'an Avenue
To the south, the XV Airborne Corps also used live ammunition, and civilian deaths were recorded at Hufangqiao, Zhushikou, Tianqiao, and Qianmen.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 3–4, Protestors attack the PLA's troopers
Unlike more moderate student leaders, Chai Ling seemed willing to allow the student movement to end in a violent confrontation. In an interview given in late May, Chai suggested that only when the movement ended in bloodshed would the majority of China realize the importance of the student movement and unite. However, she felt that she was unable to convince her fellow students of this. She also stated that the expectation of violent crackdown was something she had heard from Li Lu and not an idea of her own.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 3–4, Protestors attack the PLA's troopers
As the killings started, it infuriated city residents, some of whom attacked soldiers with sticks, rocks, and molotov cocktails, setting fire to military vehicles and beating the soldiers inside them to death. On one avenue in western Beijing, anti-government protestors torched a military convoy of more than 100 trucks and armored vehicles.


1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Military action, June 3–4, Protestors attack the PLA's troopers
The Chinese government and its supporters have tried to argue that the troops acted in self-defense and seized upon troop casualties to justify the use of force; but lethal attacks on troops occurred after the military had opened fire at 10 pm on June 3 and the number of military fatalities caused by protesters was relatively few—between 7 and 10, according to Wu Renhua's study and Chinese government report, compared to hundreds or thousands of civilian deaths. The Wall Street Journal reported that: