Students’ Tiananmen Protest Turned Deadly, Transforming U.S.-China Relations | Retro Report

Analyze how governments respond to protests and social movements, evaluate the impact of U.S.–China trade policy on both countries, and develop an evidence-based argument for maintaining or revising the U.S. policy.

In the spring of 1989, more than a million Chinese citizens filled Tiananmen Square in Beijing to demand free speech and an end to government corruption. The movement grew to include hunger strikes and nationwide marches. But the Communist Party leadership refused to grant protesters’ demands, which included an end to press censorship and more funding for education. The Tiananmen demonstrations ended in a violent and deadly crackdown ordered by Deng Xiaoping.

The story of Tiananmen Square, told through the voices of Chinese students, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Ambassador Winston Lord, raises important questions about the tensions between human rights and economic interests in foreign policy.