Reactions to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests empathy for the events. North Korea, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany, among others, supported the Chinese government and denounced the protests. Overseas Chinese students demonstrated in many cities in Europe, America, the Middle East, and Asia against the Chinese government. Some Chinese citizens deplored the incident at Tiananmen Square, and believed that the massacre of peaceful protesters had been done with such brutal force as to prevent any further protests by citizens. In the immediate aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests the Communist Party of China maintained its original condemnation of the student demonstrations (see April 26 Editorial) and characterised
Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters through student pickets and entered the square, demonstrating the inability of the pickets to resist the army. Once the crackdown began, the responsibilities of the pickets widened to include maintaining order during the square’s evacuation, as well as physically protecting the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters leaders, which facilitated the escape of Chai Ling, Feng Congde, Li Lu, and Wang Chaohua. Attempting to exercise effective authority, the Headquarters established a central location so that they could create security lines and be found easily. It is important to note that the intended use of these security lines differs between the English and