1989 Tiananmen Square protests Tiananmen Square protests. Deng was of the main forces behind China's economic reform. Chinese Premier Li Peng visited the United Nations Security Council on 31 January 1992 and argued that the economic and arms embargoes on China were a violation of national sovereignty. The European Union and United States embargo on armament sales to China, put in place as a result of the violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests, remains in place today. China has been calling for a lift of the ban for years and has had a varying amount of support from European Union members. Since 2004,
1989 Tiananmen Square protests date, a group of workers calling themselves the Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation issued two handbills challenging the central leadership. Hu's state funeral took place on 22 April. On the evening of 21 April, some 100,000 students marched on Tiananmen Square, ignoring orders from Beijing municipal authorities that the Square was to be closed off for the funeral. The funeral, which took place inside the Great Hall and attended by the leadership, was broadcast live to the students. General secretary Zhao Ziyang delivered the eulogy. The funeral seemed rushed, and only lasted 40 minutes, as emotions ran high in the Square.