HM Prison Maze However, the government immediately reverted to their previous stance, in the belief that the prisoners would not start another strike. Bobby Sands, the leader of the Provisional IRA prisoners, began a second action on 1 March 1981. Outside the prison, in a major publicity coup, Sands was nominated for Parliament and won the Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election. But the British government still resisted and on 5 May, after 66 days on hunger strike, Sands died. More than 100,000 people attended Sands' funeral in Belfast. Another nine hunger strikers (members of both the IRA and the INLA) died by the
Students' hunger strike at the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests led by Chai Ling. Her involvement made her a prominent figure for the rest of the movement. Other student leaders including Li Lu and Pu Zhiqiang also rose to prominence because of their involvement. The media's focus on the hunger strike saw the rise of popularity and fame among the student leaders. The hunger strike contributed to making the mass protests noticeable by global media. Moreover, it aroused sympathy for the students' cause. Louisa Lim states that the media portrayal of "the country's youth sacrificing themselves for its future shook many who until then had not been involved." The hunger