Reactions to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests having occurred in Tiananmen Square itself. Yuan Mu portrayed the crackdown as a response to "a counterrevolutionary rebellion in the early hours of the morning of June 3." In August, 1989, the Chinese government released its complete, official account of the Tiananmen protests, "The Truth About the Beijing Turmoil". The narrative presented in "The Truth About the Beijing Turmoil" differs significantly from the accounts of student leaders and foreign journalists, many of which are banned in China. On the origins of the protest the book states: This contradicts the statements of student leaders, who emphasised the spontaneous nature of their
1989 Tiananmen Square protests at universities in other cities, with many students traveling to Beijing to join the demonstration. Generally, the demonstration at Tiananmen Square was well ordered, with daily marches of students from various Beijing-area colleges displaying their solidarity with the class boycott and with the demands of the protest. The students sang "The Internationale", the world socialist anthem, on their way to, and at, the square. Afraid that the movement would spin out of control, Deng Xiaoping asked that the Square be cleared for Gorbachev's visit. Executing Deng's request, Zhao again used a soft approach, and directed his subordinates to coordinate negotiations