What were the student protesters who occupied tiananmen square in beijing in june 1989 demanding?

Over the course of six weeks in 1989, Chinese students and those they inspired gathered in central Beijing in Tiananmen Square. It began as a spontaneous outpouring of respect and grief following the death of reformist leader Hu Yaobang, but the event then took on a life of its own as mourning became protest against corruption and repression and a call for greater political freedom. The demonstrations expanded to other Chinese cities.

As the crowds swelled, some within the Communist Party leadership began to fear that the protests might continue to expand and to threaten the Communist Party’s political dominance. A cat-and-mouse game began as the state tried to find ways to move security forces into the square to end the Tiananmen occupation and as the protesters looked for ways to block them. As the crowds grew, so did the audience of people watching from around the world.

Then the decision was made. On June 4, 1989, Chinese tanks used the cover of darkness to force their way into the square. In the process, the Chinese government massacred at least hundreds, maybe thousands, of its own people, most of them students.

Three decades later, the fight over Tiananmen continues. On the rare occasion when a Chinese state official addresses these events at all, it is to justify the decision. On June 2, 2019, China’s Defense Minister described the events of 1989 as “political turmoil that the central government needed to quell, which was the correct policy.” Because of this, he said, “China has enjoyed stability, and if you visit China you can understand that part of history.”

On the one hand, it’s hard to understand how a visit to China can shed light on the events of that era. Yes, China’s people have much more access to information today than they did in 1989. Yet, particularly when it comes to a subject as sensitive as the protests and massacre in the square, the Chinese state keeps a tight grip. Those who use social media in China must register accounts under their real names, and the authorities can demand access to those names whenever it wants.

The government also uses state-of-the-art censorship tools to erase mention of a number of politically sensitive search terms or to redirect the user toward other subjects. Video recognition software can detect images related to the square and its bloody history. In short, China’s leaders have come as close as technically possible to erasing all record of what happened.

On the other hand, the Chinese Communist Party leadership has presided over the largest economic expansion in human history. In 1989, when adjusted for differences in purchasing power, China’s economy generated just 4.11% of global GDP. Today it’s 19.24%. There is an obvious human dimension to this success. Market reform in China has undeniably lifted hundreds of millions of people from poverty. Nearly two-thirds of the population lived on $1.90 per day or less in 1990. In 2015, it was less than 1%. Per capita income increased by more than 900% over that period, and infant mortality rates fell by more than 80%.

Thirty years after the murders in Tiananmen Square, China presents a contradictory legacy. Its leadership has provided opportunities for a better life to a larger number of people than any government in history. And China remains a police state, where citizens can’t publicly acknowledge that this mass murder ever took place.

This appears in the June 17, 2019 issue of TIME.

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e

What were the student protesters who occupied Tiananmen Square in Beijing in June 1989 demanding?
a) Fair wages and better working conditions.
b) Suspension of martial law imposed earlier that year.
c) An end to communism in China.
d) Freedom for Taiwan.
e) Greater democracy.

b

By the end of 1991, Soviet attempts at economic reform had created chaos, and the:
a) Soviet military staged a successful coup.
b) Soviet Union dissolved, ending the Cold War.
c) United States had to intervene with financial aid.
d) Soviets sought U.S. assistance.
e) Soviets turned to the United Nations for help.

b

After Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, George H. W. Bush immediately sent American troops to:
a) Israel.
b) Saudi Arabia.
c) Kuwait.
d) Iran.
e) Egypt.

d

Which African state, which had practiced apartheid for decades, elected Nelson Mandela president in 1994?
a) Ghana.
b) Congo.
c) Angola.
d) South Africa.
e) Mozambique.

a

Operation Desert Storm:
a) quickly drove the Iraqi army out of Kuwait.
b) ousted Saddam Hussein from power.
c) lacked a clear strategic political goal.
d) was criticized by the United Nations.
e) quickly drove the Iraqi army out of Iran.

c

In 1992, Bill Clinton secured the Democratic nomination for president because he:
a) promised to expand welfare.
b) pledged to continue the policies of President Bush in the Middle East.
c) combined social liberalism with elements of conservatism.
d) promised to restrict access to abortion.
e) did not support gay rights.

e

Whose election campaign director was fond of the saying "It's the economy, stupid"?
a) Bob Dole's.
b) George H. W. Bush's.
c) Pat Buchanan's.
d) John Anderson's.
e) Bill Clinton's.

e

The third-party candidate Ross Perot:
a) received few votes in the 1992 presidential election.
b) criticized only President Bush's foreign policy.
c) ran as a Progressive Party candidate.
d) received the least votes for a third-party candidate since Theodore Roosevelt.
e) received the most votes for a third-party candidate since Theodore Roosevelt.

a

NAFTA:
a) created a free-trade zone for the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
b) created a free-trade zone for the United States, Great Britain, and Canada.
c) was hailed by organized labor and environmental groups.
d) raised tariffs significantly against imports from South America.
e) created a free-trade zone for the United States, Japan, and Western Europe.

c

Who did Clinton appoint to head the panel on health-care reform?
a) Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
b) Janet Reno.
c) Hillary Clinton.

c

The 1994 Contract with America:
a) was Clinton's national health insurance plan.
b) was the brainchild of Ross Perot.
c) included the promise to cut government spending and end affirmative action.
d) was a labor agreement between federal employees and the government.
e) included several demands, all of which became law.

b

Who devised the Contract with America?
a) Bill Clinton.
b) Congressional Republicans.
c) Latinos.
d) Feminists.

d

President Bill Clinton:
a) abolished child poverty.
b) terminated the food stamp program.
c) ended public housing programs.
d) replaced welfare with state grants.
e) initiated diplomatic ties with China.

c

How did President Clinton respond to the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional elections?
a) He grew increasingly radical in his opposition to Republicans.
b) He brought Republicans into his cabinet in order to build a more bipartisan government.
c) He campaigned against radical Republicans and moved toward the center.
d) He increasingly embraced the position of the Democratic left.
e) He intensified his alliance with Democrats in the Senate.

e

Bill Clinton was easily reelected in 1996 because he:
a) promised to restore the welfare state.
b) pledged to increase the Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
c) vowed to get a national health insurance bill through Congress.
d) supported abolishing affirmative action.
e) embraced popular Republican policies.

a

Bill Clinton's foreign policy centered on:
a) elevating human rights to a central place in international relations.
b) defeating the few pockets of communism left in the world.
c) taking a hard line against economic competitors like Mexico and Canada.
d) building what he called a New World Order.
e) preemptive strikes to weed out dictatorial leaders.

d

During the Balkan crisis, President Clinton:
a) refused to commit U.S. troops.
b) blocked UN attempts to assist in the region.
c) provided minimal economic aid but refused to send troops.
d) supported NATO's efforts by deploying American planes and ground troops.
e) advocated the reunification of Yugoslavia.

a

During the 1990s, the American economy:
a) continued to expand.
b) was hampered by a rising federal deficit.
c) suffered from high inflation rates.
d) was hurt by high unemployment rates.
e) stagnated throughout the decade.

e

What spurred the new economy?
a) The automobile.
b) Housing.
c) NAFTA.
d) Television.
e) The computer.

c

By the start of the twenty-first century, dot coms symbolized the:
a) continued economic vitality of the computer revolution.
b) lasting positive social impact of the computer revolution.
c) negative impact of stock speculation among technology companies.
d) stabilization of the stock market.
e) potential increase in manufacturing jobs in the United States.

b

Because of the 1965 changes in immigration laws, thirty-five years later the immigrant population in the United States:
a) had declined significantly.
b) increasingly came from Asia and Latin America.
c) increasingly came from eastern Europe.
d) had stayed about the same.
e) centered in rural areas.

d

What was the fate of the chief officers of Enron?
a) They were never tried before a court of law.
b) They left the country for a Caribbean island.
c) They were ordered to pay billions of dollars to compensate investors.
d) They were convicted of multiple counts of fraud.
e) They were sentenced to life in prison.

e

The computer revolution of the 1990s included the development of new and life-altering technology that included all of the following EXCEPT:
a) personal computers.
b) digital cameras.
c) cell phones.
d) the Internet.
e) CDs.

e

By the start of the twenty-first century, the largest minority group in the United States was:
a) Cambodian.
b) Filipino.
c) Chinese.
d) African-American.
e) Latino.

d

Whose motto was "No globalization without representation"?
a) Protesters of the 1999 WTO meeting.
b) Native American Rights Fund.
c) Filipino Independence Organization.
d) Protesters of the expansion of Wal-Mart.

b

Which replaced General Motors as the country's largest corporate employer?
a) Microsoft.
b) Wal-Mart.
c) McDonalds.

a

By the end of the 1990s, the American economy:
a) was characterized by rising employment rates and declining income for poor and middle-class Americans.
b) went into a deep depression as the federal deficit forced up interest rates.
c) boomed as workers' wages rose and the savings rate of Americans increased.
d) thrived as union membership increased and the labor market grew more "sticky."
e) was strongest in rural areas as computer technologies allowed companies to move into more remote locations.

a

Countless corporate scandals and stock frauds stemmed directly from the 1999 repeal of which New Deal measure?
a) The Glass-Steagall Act.
b) The Federal Communications Act.
c) The Securities and Exchange Act.
d) The Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
e) The Bank Holiday Act.

d

The Enron scandal:
a) led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
b) resulted in the decline of organized labor.
c) occurred because of lax enforcement of the Glass-Steagall Act.
d) was one result of the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act.

a

Increasingly visible during the 1990s, Asian-Americans:
a) were hailed by white Americans as a "model minority."
b) all earned high incomes.
c) tended to send their children to work rather than to school.
d) began returning to their countries of
origin.
e) were still forbidden by law to marry non-Asians.

a

Which ethnic group's average family income in 2000 surpassed that of whites?
a) Asian-Americans.
b) Muslim-Americans.
c) Latinos.
d) African-Americans.
e) Native Americans.

b

During the 1990s, African-American civil rights:
a) expanded more than in any previous decade.
b) were declining as the legal definition of discrimination was narrowed.
c) were no longer an issue for most Americans.
d) were expanded in terms of education but restricted in employment.
e) were expanded in terms of employment but restricted in education.

c

By the year 2000, the AIDS epidemic:
a) affected only homosexuals and transgender Americans.
b) affected only drug users and hemophiliacs.
c) was spreading less rapidly among gay Americans.
d) brought an end to the gay rights movement.
e) had been brought under control around the world.

d

In the 1990s, the prison population:
a) declined because there was little new prison construction.
b) experienced shorter sentences and more rehabilitation programs than before.
c) increased because crime rates increased in the 1990s.
d) increased as state governments increased penalties for crimes and decreased parole.
e) declined because states refused to fund the "prison-industrial complex."

d

During the 1990s, twenty-three states passed laws:
a) legalizing gay marriage.
b) limiting the rights of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans.
c) banning all abortions except for medical emergencies.
d) making English the official language.
e) raising the drinking age to twenty-one.

a

At the end of the twentieth century, the Christian Coalition:
a) was a major force in Republican Party politics.
b) reversed its long-standing opposition to abortion.
c) declined in numbers but grew more vocal at the same time.
d) campaigned for the introduction of a national tax funding community churches.
e) dominated the Democratic Party.

b

In the 1990s, school segregation:
a) declined as the nation became more diverse.
b) was on the rise.
c) was less widespread than it had been in 1970.
d) declined because the Supreme Court ruled that school funding could no longer rest on property taxes.
e) was not a problem in the North.

a

Proposition 187, approved by California voters in 1994:
a) denied illegal immigrants and their children access to welfare and education.
b) expanded the "prison-industrial complex" with a tough three-strikes law.
c) reinstated the bracero program and solved many of its immigration problems.
d) banned bilingual education and abolished the segregation of immigrant school children.
e) banned affirmative action in education, employment, and government.

a

What is a visible sign of Native American quasi-sovereignty?
a) Casinos.
b) Reservations.
c) Citizenship.
d) Increase in professional jobs.
e) Political participation.

d

Which city witnessed riots and looting in 1992 after tensions snapped over an episode of police officers beating an unarmed African-American man?
a) New York.
b) San Francisco.
c) Chicago.
d) Los Angeles.
e) Houston.

d

Casey v. Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania:
a) upheld the view that those who used violence against abortion clinics had to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
b) ruled that a woman had to inform her husband before getting an abortion.
c) overturned Roe v. Wade.
d) repudiated the centuries-old claim that a husband had a legal claim to control the body of his wife.
e) was a triumph for supporters of the pro-life position.

c

The 1995 truck bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City was organized by:
a) militant African-American separatists.
b) a left-wing paramilitary group.
c) a far-right private militia group.
d) Islamic fundamentalists.
e) Osama bin Laden.

c

The term "pay gap" refers to the difference in:
a) pay differences between workers and CEOs.
b) pay rates for skilled and unskilled workers.
c) pay rates between men and women.
d) pay gaps between new hires and senior employees.
e) the difference between gross income and take-home pay.

b

The battles that raged throughout the 1990s over moral values were called:
a) conservative wars.
b) culture wars.
c) Christian wars.
d) Supreme Court wars.
e) family-value wars.

d

Bush v. Gore ordered:
a) victory to be given to Bush.
b) the recount in Florida to finish within one week.
c) Florida to vote again in a separate election.
d) Florida to halt its recount.
e) Florida to audit its balloting machines.

a

The 2000 presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore was:
a) finally decided by the Supreme Court.
b) decided by the Florida Attorney General.
c) in question because of voter fraud in Florida.
d) a landslide victory for Bush.
e) finally decided by the U.S. Senate.

b

By the start of the twenty-first century, American voter participation rates had:
a) increased significantly.
b) declined even further from previous years.
c) begun to show a slow increase from previous years.
d) increased, as more voters became concerned about a lack of affordable health care.
e) increased as more voters became concerned about the state of the economy.

c

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act:
a) made gay marriage legal.
b) was criticized by the Christian Coalition.
c) banned gay couples from spousal benefits provided by federal law.
d) expanded tax benefits for married couples.
e) made divorce more difficult and costly.

e

In 1998, Congress brought impeachment charges against President Clinton because he:
a) had an extramarital affair with a White House staff member.
b) authorized a break-in at the Republican national headquarters.
c) extorted money from oil companies in exchange for government contracts.
d) ordered troops into Somalia without congressional approval.
e) lied about his extramarital affair before the grand jury.

d

The abortion rate declined throughout the 1990s, largely because:
a) of the successful efforts of the pro-life campaign.
b) there are few doctors who will perform abortions.
c) of the success of abstinence campaigns.
d) teenagers had increasing access to contraception.
e) there was a large conversion to Catholicism.

b

Which of the following was a scandal of the Clinton administration?
a) Teapot Dome.
b) Whitewater.
c) Watergate.
d) Whiskey Ring.
e) Iran-Contra.

b

Militia groups arose in America during the 1990s:
a) to protest the increasing influence of the Christian Coalition.
b) and engaged in acts of domestic terrorism.
c) but were quickly eliminated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
d) but posed no immediate threat to the nation.
e) and were based primarily in the Northeast.

c

According to a 2000 public-opinion poll, 69 percent of Americans who responded were most proud of the nation's:
a) wealth.
b) racial tolerance.
c) equal opportunity laws.
d) multiculturalism.
e) freedom.

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