Why were students demonstrating at Tiananmen Square in 1989? What was going on?
There are probably three fundamental reasons behind the student movement in 1989. Number one is the economy. You have high inflation which China never experienced before. Then you have rampant corruption among officials as part of this rapid economic reform. And thirdly, a kind of lack of freedom that students who very much want to enjoy, especially in the political arena. And that I think was the three fundamental reasons. But then there were also some short term reasons. One is the funeral of one of the beloved liberal leaders, He Shuheng, who was smeared in the eyes of students by the leadership then. So what specifically did the students want? The goals of student demonstrators sort of evolved over time in this 2-month time. In the beginning, the demand was very simple. The demand was focused on what they call rehabilitation of that leader, He Shuheng. Because in their eyes, he was smeared by the leaders, especially the conservatives, and they wanted to hear his name to be rehabili
