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Adrian Brown covered the crackdown on protesters around Tiananmen Square 30 years ago. Brown, now corresponding to Al Jazeera English in Beijing, describes what he saw on June 4, 1989, and explains how these events are seen in China today.
Shooting tanks, mbadive crowds on the streets
I call myself Adrian Brown, I am Al Jazeera's correspondent in Beijing and I was in this city more than 30 years ago, covering the beginning of the movement for democracy and the consequences of the repression. brutal of this movement. I am coming today to Ritan Park. It's in the center of Beijing, it's one of my favorite places in this city. It is a park that dates back to before the communist era and is a good place to reflect on the tumultuous events of 30 years ago.
[1989 events, crowd protesting]Students walking
Funeral Hu Yaobang
Students protesting: I arrived in Beijing on May 4, when a million students walked through the city, led by 21-year-old charismatic student Wu'er Kaixi. Now, students had started appearing on the streets of the Chinese capital several weeks earlier after the death of a man named Hu Yaobang. He had been a Liberal in the Chinese government and had been purged several years earlier. His death sparked a wave of grief and the students really believed in what Hu Yaobang wanted.
Hu Yaobang file images
He wanted to see a loosening of things here in China. He wanted freedom of expression, he wanted freedom of badembly, he wanted in many ways what the students were asking now, namely, that the Chinese government keep the promises contained in the constitution of the country.
Wang Dan
Former student leader of the Tiananmen protests
"We were patriotic, we did not try to overthrow the authorities and we hoped to be able to interact appropriately with the authorities.We did not talk about many things.I did not think that it was wrong. was acting a radical demand, time that the government would finally agree with us ".
Events on the square
They wanted democracy, but also tougher measures against corruption. Gradually, the movement developed and in the first week of May, Tiananmen Square was occupied by hundreds of thousands of students. Tiananmen Square, of course, is a ceremonial heart of Beijing.
Former student leader of the Tiananmen protests
"I think that politically, legally or rationally, we are irreproachable. This part with which I am pretty confident. But morally, I do not know. It's another thing. And if there was a person who was shot at this place because he heard a speech delivered by me. "
Soldiers on the streets, shot of tanks, crowd
By the third week of May, the government had begun to lose patience and declared martial law. But this did not deter students and the occupation continued. But by that time, the protest movement had begun to fade. Roundabout early June, June 3, evening, the afternoon of June 3, it was clearly decided to use force to finally end
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