Tiananmen Square

In the late 1970s, the Chinese leadership of Deng Xiaoping abandoned Maoist-style planned collectivist economics, and embraced market-oriented reforms. Due to the rapid pace of change, by the late 1980s, grievances over inflation, limited career prospects for students, and corruption of the party elite were growing rapidly. Communist governments were also losing legitimacy around the world, particularly in Eastern Europe. In April 1989, triggered by the death of deposed Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang, a liberal reformer, a mass gatherings and protests took place in and around Tiananmen Square. At its height, some half a million protesters assembled there. The demonstrations, consisting of local working residents as well as students, called for government accountability, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the restoration of workers' control over industry. Peaceful protests also occurred in other cities, such as Shanghai and Wuhan, while looting and rioting broke out in Xi'an and Changsha.