Poltical+Causes

**__ Short-term effects: __** Þ Run by old men (PM was youngest at 60) Þ Entry to the Chinese communist party was difficult and even more so to central committee Þ Lots of infighting for power. There were more liberals such as Hu Yaobang who wanted to reform, conservatives who wanted no reform and Deng Xiaoping who wanted economic, but not political, no reform Þ Death of Hu Yaobang in 1986 - students saw Hu Yaobang as a champion of political reform so within hours of his death there were demonstrations beginning on university campus Þ China's leaders, namely Jiang Qing (Mao Zedong's wife) and Mao Yuanxin, saw the popular gathering as a threat to the forward movement of the Cultural Revolution. Þ The president of the soviet union, Mikhail Gorbachev, arriving in china caused the students to begin a hunger strike in the square- thousands of supporters joined the sit in Þ Students, teachers and others who were considered intellectuals by the government believed that the economic reforms had only improved the financial standing of a small percentage of the population (namely, factory workers and farmers) and that the government reforms still left the Communist Party of China in complete control of the nation.
 * Political Causes for Tiananmen Square **

Þ Youth movement- China- once the students gained economic freedom, they then wanted freedom of speech etc Þ Students began their protests in Beijing in April 1989, demanding democratic reforms. These opened the floodgates for a nationwide upheaval of the urban working class, which began to advance far more radical social demands Þ About 100 million people, encompassing virtually every higher-learning institution, half the country’s technical schools and countless factories, mines and offices in some 400 cities participated in one form or another. By strangling the movement in Beijing, then unleashing a countrywide crackdown, including the arrest of tens of thousands of activists, the regime survived the revolutionary crisis
 * __ Mid Term causes __**

Þ The government's Hundred Flowers campaign encouraged people to openly share their opinions on government policies. This campaign only lasted for a short period of time between 1956 and 1957. Þ Authoritarianism and totalitarianism society Þ Democracy wall was a long brick wall in Beijing where people posted political writings from 1978 - 1979 as a result of the Cultural Revolution and the major economic reforms Þ Maoism was repressing Chinese society and this caused political uprising in the country Þ Gang of Four was a group of four corrupt Chinese Officials
 * __Long-term effects:__**