Why did the Chinese government mobilise the Army against civilians in 1989?

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Why did the Chinese government mobilise the Army against civilians in 1989?

The massacre in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 resulted in thousands of deaths and a great scar in China’s humanity records. It was a political issue that was intensified by the nature of the student led protestors that led to the incident. The political hardliners led by Deng Xiaoping and Li Peng had the political might to enforce their ideals and thus crush the more liberal politicians and the various reformists groups protesting in the Square. As well as this the nature of the government itself was a reason why the army was mobilised. Coupled with this the methods used by the protestors were inappropriate. In total the course of events themselves and the fact that the government could mobilise the army against the protestors meant that they did.

The protestors, made up primarily by students but also by workers, intellectuals and private entrepreneurs, used inappropriate methods. Personal challenges to leaders, for example banners calling for resignations of Li Peng and Deng Xiaoping only served to anger these leaders who had the power to crush them. The methods of protest contained western influences such as banners with western slogans, such as, “I have a dream” and erecting a pretended Statue of Liberty, consolidated fears that the protestors were backed from outside of China. The ideas behind these methods came from the US, a capitalist society, and the CCP saw this as opposing Communism. The hunger strikes launched on May 14th proved successful and during the time probably too successful as it encouraged students to carry on longer. With the world looking on, the government was forced to react and thus the army was mobilised against the protestors.

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A key to the government’s decision to mobilise the army against the protestors was the nature of the government as an institution. As a controlling dictatorial government, the party had certain obligations to its people who deeply respected it. One of these obligations was to assert control and show that they are able to act in a crisis and ensure stability. An thus in a sense the government was obligated to mobilise the army.

The Chinese government upholds many historical traditions and tendencies such as the need to dictate terms and most notably have a complete intolerance for ...

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