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TURMOIL IN CHINA; In Shanghai, Protesters Turn Defiant By Richard Bernstein 1989

On June 9, 1989, students challenged the violent and oppressive actions of the Chinese Communist Party by protesting in Shanghai, China. In this article, Richard Bernstein reports on the protests in Shanghai and how the government responded to its citizens’ dissatisfactions. As you read, take notes on what the protestors wanted and how the Communist Party of China responded to the protests.

[1] SHANGHAI, June 9 — Tens of thousands of students and others held a protest rally and marched through the streets of this city today in a demonstration of continued defiance of the Communist leadership.

The demonstrators, led by students from Shanghai’s many universities and technical institutes, marched to recorded funeral dirges1 behind large, colorful wreathes mourning the thousands believed to have been killed in Beijing when troops crushed the protest movement there.

Estimates of the crowd by reporters and diplomats ranged from about 40,000 to more than 100,000. The rally, coming amid reports that security police were making arrests of participants in the democracy movement in Beijing, reflected a contrast between the two cities.

While the atmosphere in Beijing is subdued2 and fearful, the events of the day in Shanghai indicate a mood of continued anger and defiance in China’s largest and economically most important city. "Tiananmen_Square_protests" by openDemocracy is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

A Human Barricade

[5] At one point, hundreds of people formed a human barricade3 in front of trucks loaded with auxiliary policemen, preventing them from approaching the demonstration.

1. a song or hymn of grief, usually accompanying a funeral 2. Subdued (adjective): quiet; somber; reflective 3. Barricade (noun): an improvised barrier 1 “The blood of the democracy martyrs4 is spread over the Chinese land,” read one huge black and white banner. “The people shall never forget them.” “Deng Xiaoping, Yang Shangkun and Li Peng, you have become the enemies of the people!” shouted one speaker during a rally in People’s Square, a huge concrete esplanade5 that was the British race track during this city’s colonial era. The reference was to the three Government leaders whom protesters here hold responsible for the Beijing crackdown.

The size of the crowds came as something of a surprise. The protest movement in Shanghai, intense earlier in the week, seemed to be losing steam in the last day or two, particularly as city officials and newspaper editorials warned of strict measures against those who continue to disturb “public order.”

Just after noon today, large crowds of students and their supporters, many of whom had marched for several hours from outlying districts of Shanghai, began converging6 on People’s Square in the center of the city, where they gathered in front of the local branch of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature.

Auxiliary Policemen Appear

After thousands of people were inside the square, several truckloads of auxiliary policemen, unarmed but wearing white and tan helmets, appeared at entrances to both ends of the square. Hundreds of people immediately rushed to surround the trucks, waving their arms at them to leave. After several minutes, during which the lead trucks tried to push into the square, they slowly backed out into the street and drove off.

[10] The auxiliary policemen were praised Thursday night in a televised speech by Mayor Zhu Rongji, who said that factories had been asked to donate 10 percent of their workers to make up a kind of militia.7 Mr. Zhu said they had played a major role in removing barricades of disabled buses set up by students at many city intersections in the days just after the Beijing crackdown.

After Mr. Zhu’s warning that “bad elements” would be “dealt with according to the law,” the sudden appearance of the auxiliary police, who have not been seen at previous demonstrations here, seemed at first an indication that the Government might try to interfere with the demonstration, an effort that almost surely would have led to violence.

But after the trucks carrying the helmeted men left People’s Square, there was no further effort on their part to interfere with today’s rally and march.

A New Set of Demands

The protesters first sat in a great semicircle in front of the National People’s Congress building, where they listened to speeches and to a set of demands newly formulated by the student coordinating committee:

* That flags be flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning for the dead in Beijing.

4. a person who is killed because of their beliefs 5. an open, level space 6. Converge (verb): to meet at a point 7. a military force that is raised from the civil population 2 [15] * That the Shanghai government engage in a “dialogue” with the protesters.

* That the Government release videotapes of the army’s actions at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

The last demand reflects a widespread frustration with official accounts of the crackdown, which have repeated a Government spokesman’s contention that only about 300 people were killed, most of them soldiers. At many places in Shanghai, students have put up posters containing handwritten transcripts of accounts of the Tiananmen crackdown given by the Voice of America and the BBC in which soldiers are described as having fired indiscriminately8 at unarmed demonstrators, killing thousands of them.

Local TV Ignores the Protest

The local television newscast this evening made no mention of today’s demonstration.

After the gathering at People’s Square, the demonstrators marched three miles down Nanjing East Road, Shanghai’s main shopping thoroughfare, entirely filling it for a distance of at least several hundred yards. They then turned onto the Bund, the broad mall along the harbor. They marched along gray stone buildings built by the British 60 to 70 years ago, holding banners that included phrases like “China’s Tragedy” and “The Spirit Lives On.”

[20] The marchers went past the old Customs House and then past the headquarters of the Communist Party, where a crowd shouted for Jiang Zemin, the Shanghai party secretary and a member of the Politburo9 in Beijing, to come outside. Mr. Jiang did not appear. He is believed to be in Beijing.

Sympathy for the Protesters

Spectators lined most windows along the march route. They climbed lampposts, sat in the branches of the sycamore trees that line Shanghai streets and even ventured out onto the narrow ledges of buildings to peer down at the parade below. Often they watched silently but here and there they broke into cheers and applause as students and others marched by.

“Everybody in Shanghai sympathizes with the students,” said one bystander who identified himself as a computer engineer. “But they don’t dare march because they are afraid of retaliation at their work unit.”

The engineer said that workers had been warned that they could lose their salaries and possibly even their jobs if they took part in demonstrations.

“After today,” he went on, “the sky over China will be black.” Then, he drew a finger across his throat to indicate his belief that the Government will eventually embark on a nation-wide crackdown to quell10 shows of popular disaffection.11

8. in a random manner; unsystematically 9. a group of 25 people who oversee the Communist Party 10. Quell (verb): to put an end to something, typically by force 11. a feeling of being dissatisfied with the people in power 3 From The New York Times, June 10, 1989 © 1989 The New York Times. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited.

4 Text-Dependent Questions

Directions: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: Which of the following best identifies a central idea of the text? [RI.2] A. Citizens were dissatisfied with China’s government, as well as the government’s violent involvement in the Beijing protest that left many dead. B. While citizens were dissatisfied with the government, very few of them would voice these opinions out of fear of death. C. The violent force that protesters were met with in Shanghai confirmed citizens’ fears that they couldn’t voice their dissatisfaction with China’s government. D. China’s government was open to discussing their regime; however, protesters were unwilling to stop their violent protests until their demands were met.

2. PART B: Which detail from the text best supports the answer to Part A? [RI.1] A. “The protest movement in Shanghai, intense earlier in the week, seemed to be losing steam in the last day or two, particularly as city officials and newspaper editorials warned of strict measures against those who continue to disturb ‘public order.’” (Paragraph 7) B. “Hundreds of people immediately rushed to surround the trucks, waving their arms at them to leave.” (Paragraph 9) C. “students have put up posters containing handwritten transcripts of accounts of the Tiananmen crackdown given by the Voice of America and the BBC in which soldiers are described as having fired indiscriminately at unarmed demonstrators” (Paragraph 17) D. “Then, he drew a finger across his throat to indicate his belief that the Government will eventually embark on a nation-wide crackdown to quell shows of popular disaffection.” (Paragraph 24)

3. PART A: Which of the following best describes how the government responded to the [RI.3] protesters in Shanghai? A. They agreed to consider the protesters’ demands. B. They allowed the protests to take place but didn’t agree to their demands. C. They responded with violence, as they did in Beijing. D. They encouraged the protesters to voice their opinions in a nonviolent way.

4. PART B: Which quote from the text best supports the answer to Part A? [RI.1] A. “city officials and newspaper editorials warned of strict measures against those who continue to disturb ‘public order.’” (Paragraph 7) B. “After thousands of people were inside the square, several truckloads of auxiliary policemen, unarmed but wearing white and tan helmets, appeared at entrances to both ends of the square.” (Paragraph 9) C. “But after the trucks carrying the helmeted men left People’s Square, there was no further effort on their part to interfere with today’s rally and march.” (Paragraph 12) D. “‘But they don’t dare march because they are afraid of retaliation at their work unit.’” (Paragraph 22)

5 5. How does the author convey his point of view in the conclusion of the text? [RI.6]

6 Discussion Questions

Directions: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be prepared to share your original ideas in a class discussion.

1. Think about protests that have occurred in the United States: how do the treatment of protesters and the response from the government compare to how the author depicts the treatment of protesters in China?

2. According to the text, how is the Communist Party using fear to control its citizens? To what extent is the Communist Party successful in this attempt to instill fear? Can you think of a way an authority figure has used fear to influence your actions?

3. The protesters in Shanghai did not have their demands met that day. Despite this, do you think they took an important step in creating change? In the context of the text, how do people create change? Think of a time where you attempted to enact change? What steps did you take?

4. In the context of the text, which is more important: freedom or security? In what ways are China’s citizens being asked to choose between freedom and security? If you were in Shanghai on the day of the protest, would you risk yourself and the security of your job to join the demonstration? Why or why not? Cite examples from the text, your own experience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer.

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