Lesson #37 - China after Tiananmen Square

This is it. It's your last "regular" lesson in World History 9/10. We will take a look at the events in China in the midst of 1989, the same year the Berlin Wall fell in Germany and European communism was on the retreat. In China, the outcome will be different.

"One Year After Protests, An Enforced Silence on Tibet" - This Time magazine story looks at the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising which led the Dalai Lama to flee Tibet for refuge in India. March 10th marks the 50th anniversary of that uprising.


China: Tiananmen Square and After

Let's take a quick look at some of the events leading up to Tiananmen Square.

"It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice." - Deng Xiaoping
"Poverty is not socialism. To be rich is glorious." - Deng Xiaoping
"Reform is China's second revolution." - Deng Xiaoping










To try and make sense of the events surrounding Tiananmen Square, let's try and answer these questions.

• What led the students to gather in Tiananmen Square?
• What options did the government have in dealing with the protesters?
• What happened in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989?
• What was the reaction of the world to these events?
• Why did events unfold in this manner in China?

"Massacre in Tiananmen Square" - BBC on This Day (June 4, 1989) This is the actual story that appeared on BBC News.

Here is a set of documents about Tiananmen Square released from the National Security Archives of the United States. They make for interesting browsing.

Here is the website for the documentary film, "Tiananmen: The Gate of Heavenly Peace."


China After Tiananmen:  Twenty years have passed since the events of 1989, and China has certainly undergone rapid change since then. We can briefly discuss the general direction of those changes, and there are some links below in which you may be interested.

"Chinese learned to live with reform" - This BBC story looks at the legacy of Deng's reforms thirty years after they were put in place.

"Taiwan Flashpoint" - Check this out if you're interested in learning more about China's position on Taiwan and the potential threat posed in the region.

"Where next for post-Games China?" - This takes a look at China's options following the end of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

Any remaining time is yours to work on whatever needs working on...


HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, March 11th