Modern China
by: sophie lee & kate cadogan
DENG XIAOPING, THE 4 MODERNIZATIONS, & THE TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE
Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square Massacre took place in 1989. During this mass killing, several hundred citizens were shot dead by the Chinese army during a military operation to end a democratic protest in Tiananmen Square. The cause of these protests was a peaceful march by students in memory of former party leader Hu Yaobang, but millions of people joined, angered by widespread corruption. These people were asking for democracy. The President of the United States at the time, George Bush, said that he "deeply deplored the use of force".
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was born on August 22, 1904 and died on February 19, 1997 at the age of 92. He was a Communist leader who led China from the late 1970's-1997. He joined the Chinese Communist Party when he was only in high school. He also joined China's burgeoning organizer and served as an educational leader in the war against Japan in 1937. He restored China's domestic stability, economic growth after the Cultural Revolution, and introduced economic reforms in agriculture and industry, which provided more local management and established the “one child per family” policy (controlled China's huge population). In 1973, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai felt that China needed his organization skills, so he was reinstated and majorly reorganized of the government. In his final years he faced major worldwide criticism for the Tiananmen Square massacre which marked his regime, but he still stayed in power.
4 Modernizations
· The goal of the 4 Modernizations was to strengthen Chinese agriculture, industry, technology, and defense. This program was organized by Zhou Enlai in 1975. Class struggle was no longer the central focus, for the 4 Modernizations was put at the top of the country’s agenda. The 4 Modernizations were the goals of the country's political leaders.