1989 Tiananmen Square protests trying to block the military's advance towards Tiananmen Square. The number of civilian deaths has been estimated variously from 180 to 10,454. Set against a backdrop of rapid economic development and social changes in post-Mao Zedong China, the protests reflected anxieties about the country's future in the popular consciousness and among the political elite. The reforms of the 1980s had led to a nascent market economy which benefitted some people, but seriously disaffected others and the one-party political system also faced a challenge of legitimacy. Common grievances at the time included inflation, limited preparedness of graduates for the new economy
Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters Notably, a Hong Kong concert raised one million US dollars for the students. However, since the various student organizations within the square maintained their own donation funds, accountability waned. For example, the Beijing Students’ Autonomous Federation withheld one million RMB in donations when the Hunger Strike Committee took back control of the Square on May 13. Upon learning of these funds, the CCP’s official stance was that donations came from reactionary forces and were used by the students in general to procure communication equipment and illegal arms. Intent on increasing support for the movement, Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters established communication