Editing Li Peng (section)

==Premiership==

===Defender of state control===
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2019}}
In November 1987, after Premier [[Zhao Ziyang]] was promoted to [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP General Secretary]], Li became acting Premier. He was formally elected Premier in March 1988. At the time of his promotion, Li seemed like an unusual choice for Premier because he did not seem to share Deng's enthusiasm for introducing market reforms.<ref name=":3" /> Li was raised to the position of Premier thanks partially to the departure of [[Hu Yaobang]], who was forced to resign as General Secretary after the Party blamed him for a series of student-led protests in 1987.

Throughout the 1980s, political dissent and social problems, including inflation, urban migration, and [[school overcrowding]], became great problems in China. Despite these acute challenges, Li shifted his focus away from the day-to-day concerns of energy, communications, and raw materials allocation, and took a more active role in the ongoing intra-party debate on the pace of market reforms. Politically, Li opposed the modern economic reforms pioneered by Zhao Ziyang throughout Zhao's years of public service. In 1988, he downgraded the role of the System Reform Commission, a State Council body created by Zhao Ziyang.{{Sfn|Gewirtz|2022|p=200}} While students and intellectuals urged greater reforms, some party elders increasingly feared that the instability opened up by any significant reforms would threaten to undermine the authority of the Communist Party, which Li had spent his career attempting to strengthen.

After Zhao became General Secretary, his proposals in May 1988 to expand free enterprise led to popular complaints (which some suggest were politically inspired) about inflation fears. Public fears about the negative effects of market reforms gave conservatives (including Li Peng) the opening to call for greater centralization of economic controls and stricter prohibitions against Western influences, especially opposing further expansion of Zhao's more free enterprise-oriented approach. This precipitated a political debate, which grew more heated through the winter of 1988–1989.

===1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre===

{{Main|1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre}}

The [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]] began with the mass mourning over the death of former General secretary [[Hu Yaobang]], widely perceived to have been purged for his support of political liberalization.{{Sfn|Pan|2008|p=274}} On the eve of Hu's funeral, 100,000 people gathered at Tiananmen Square. Beijing students began the demonstrations to encourage continued economic reform and liberalization, and these demonstrations soon evolved into a mass movement for political reform.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nathan |first=Andrew J. |author-link=Andrew J. Nathan |date=January 2001 |title=The Tiananmen Papers |work=[[Foreign Affairs]] |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20010101faessay4257-p0/andrew-j-nathan/the-tiananmen-papers.html |access-date=13 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219055135/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20010101faessay4257-p0/andrew-j-nathan/the-tiananmen-papers.html |archive-date=19 December 2008}}</ref> From Tiananmen Square, the protesters later expanded into the surrounding streets. Non-violent protests also occurred in cities throughout China, including Shanghai and [[Wuhan]]. Rioting occurred in [[Xi'an]] and [[Changsha]].<ref>{{cite news |title=China's Upheaval: Five Weeks of Student Demonstrations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/20/world/china-s-upheaval-five-weeks-of-student-demonstrations.html |access-date=23 July 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |agency=Associated Press |date=20 May 1989}}</ref>

The Tiananmen protests were partially protests against the affluence of the children of high-ranking Communist Party officials, and the perception that second-generation officials had received their fortunes through exploiting their parents' influence. Li, whose family has often been at the center of corruption allegations within the Chinese power industry, was vulnerable to these charges.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Bezlova |first=Antoaneta |date=19 January 2002 |title=The princelings and the protesters |work=[[Asia Times]] |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DA19Ad02.html |access-date=19 August 2011 |archive-date=22 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622110442/http://www.atimes.com/china/DA19Ad02.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

An [[People's Daily editorial of April 26|editorial]] published in the ''[[People's Daily]]'' on 26 April and bearing the name of Deng Xiaoping, denounced the demonstrations as "premeditated and organized turmoil with anti-Party and anti-socialist motives". The article had the effect of worsening the demonstrations by angering its leaders, who then made their demands more extreme. Zhao Ziyang later wrote in his autobiography that although Deng had stated many of those sentiments in a private conversation with Li Peng shortly before the editorial was written, Li had the comments disseminated to Party members and published as the editorial without Deng's knowledge or consent.{{Sfn|Zhao|2009|p=10–12}}

Li strictly refused to negotiate with the Tiananmen protesters out of principle, and became one of the officials most objected to by protesters.<ref name=":0" /> One of the protest's key leaders, [[Wu'erkaixi]], during a hunger strike, publicly scolded Li on National Television, saying he was ignoring the needs of the people. Some observers say that Wang's statements insulted Li personally, hardening his resolve to end the protest by violent means.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |date=4 June 2010 |title=Li Peng, the "butcher of Tiananmen," was "ready to die" to stop the student turmoil |work=[[AsiaNews]] |url=https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Li-Peng,-the-%E2%80%9Cbutcher-of-Tiananmen,%E2%80%9D-was-%E2%80%9Cready-to-die%E2%80%9D-to-stop-the-student-turmoil-18592.html |access-date=21 August 2011}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Among the other senior members of the central government, Li became the one who most strongly favored violence and known as the "Butcher of Beijing" for his role in the crackdown.<ref name="Hong Kong Free Press">{{cite news |date=23 July 2019 |title='Butcher of Beijing': Ex-Chinese premier Li Peng, who ordered Tiananmen Massacre, dies aged 90 |work=[[Hong Kong Free Press]] |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/07/23/breaking-former-chinese-premier-li-peng-dies-aged-91/ |access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |date=23 July 2019 |title=Li Peng: former Chinese premier known as 'Butcher of Beijing' dies aged 90 |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/23/former-chinese-premier-li-peng-butcher-of-beijing-dies-aged-90 |access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> After winning the support of most of his colleagues, apparently including Deng Xiaoping, Li officially declared martial law in Beijing on 20 May 1989 and promised "resolute and decisive measures to put an end to the turmoil".{{Sfn|Gewirtz|2022|p=233}} The protests were [[People's Liberation Army at the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre|crushed by the military]] on 3–4 June. Most estimates of the dead range from several hundred to several thousand people. Li later described the crackdown as a historic victory for communism,<ref name=":3" /> and wrote that he feared the protests would be as potentially damaging to China as the [[Cultural Revolution]] had been.<ref name=":5" /> The martial law was lifted by Li on 10 January 1990.{{Sfn|Gewirtz|2022|p=277}}

===Post-Tiananmen===
[[File:Vladimir Putin with Li Peng-2.jpg|thumb|right|Li Peng with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] in 2000]]
Although the Tiananmen crackdown was an "international public relations disaster for China," it ensured that Li would have a long and productive career. He remained powerful even though he had been one of the main targets of protesters, partly because the leadership believed that limiting Li's career would be the same as admitting that they had made mistakes by suppressing the 1989 protests. By keeping Li at the upper levels of the Party, China's leaders communicated to the world that the country remained stable and united.<ref name=":3" /> Because of Li's role in the crackdown, he was viewed as politically repellent in most Western capitals and Western delegations traveling to China often had to debate whether they could be seen meeting with Li.<ref name=":05" />

In the immediate aftermath of the Tiananmen protests, Li took a leading role in a national austerity program, intended to slow economic growth and inflation and re-centralize the economy. Li worked to increase taxes on agriculture and export-industries and increased salaries to less efficient industries owned by the government. Li directed a tight monetary policy, implementing price controls on many commodities, supporting higher interest rates, and cutting off state loans to private and cooperative sectors in attempts to reduce inflation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burns |first=John P. |date=24 October 2003 |title="Downsizing" the Chinese State: Government Retrenchment in the 1990s |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0305741003000444 |journal=The China Quarterly |volume=175 |pages=775–802 |doi=10.1017/s0305741003000444 |issn=0305-7410|hdl=10722/179364 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> After the fifth plenum of the [[13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|13th Central Committee]] in November 1989, Li established a State Council Production Commission to better coordinate the implementation of the plans.{{Sfn|Gewirtz|2022|p=276}}

On 18 April 1990, Li spoke at a celebration for the fifth anniversary of the Shanghai Volkswagen Corporation.<ref name=":Chatwin">{{Cite book |last=Chatwin |first=Jonathan |title=The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China's Future |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |year=2024 |isbn=9781350435711}}</ref>{{Rp|page=23}} During his speech, Li stated that "some policies of the economic and technological zones and [[Special economic zones of China|Special Economic Zones]] can be implemented in the Pudong area".<ref name=":Chatwin" />{{Rp|page=23}} Li stated that future investors from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan were welcomed and that China would provide preferential conditions for cooperation and improve the investment environment.<ref name=":Chatwin" />{{Rp|page=23}} The occasion is often described as [[Pudong]]'s "birthday".<ref name=":Chatwin" />{{Rp|page=23}}

In January 1992, at the same time as Deng Xiaoping's [[Deng Xiaoping's southern tour|southern tour]], Li attended the annual gathering of the [[World Economic Forum]] in [[Davos]], Switzerland. At the summit, Li told the audience, "We must further accelerate the pace of reform and opening", and encouraged them to invest in China.{{Sfn|Gewirtz|2022|p=269}} In 1992, Li attended the [[Earth Summit|United Nations Conference on Environment and Development]] in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.<ref name=":92">{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Joanna I. |title=Greening East Asia: The Rise of the Eco-Developmental State |date=2020 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=978-0-295-74791-0 |editor-last=Esarey |editor-first=Ashley |location=Seattle |chapter=China's Low-Carbon Energy Strategy |jstor=j.ctv19rs1b2 |editor-last2=Haddad |editor-first2=Mary Alice |editor-last3=Lewis |editor-first3=Joanna I. |editor-last4=Harrell |editor-first4=Stevan}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=51–52}} The meeting was the beginning of China's shift to a more active role in international environmental policy.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |title=Greening East Asia: The Rise of the Eco-Developmental State |date=2020 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=978-0-295-74791-0 |editor-last=Esarey |editor-first=Ashley |location=Seattle |jstor=j.ctv19rs1b2 |editor-last2=Haddad |editor-first2=Mary Alice |editor-last3=Lewis |editor-first3=Joanna I. |editor-last4=Harrell |editor-first4=Stevan}}</ref>{{Rp|page=8}} At the conference, Li stated that the pursuit of environmental protection should not cause neglect of economic development and that international environmental cooperation should not infringe on national sovereignty.<ref name=":92" />{{Rp|page=52}}

Li suffered a heart attack in 1993 and began to lose influence within the Party to first-ranking vice premier [[Zhu Rongji]], a strong advocate for economic liberalization. In that year, when Li made his annual work report to the Politburo, he was forced to make over seventy changes to make the plans acceptable to Deng.<ref name=":0" /> Perhaps realizing that opposition to the market reforms would be poorly received by Deng and other Party elders, Li publicly supported Deng's economic reforms. Li was reappointed Premier in 1993, despite a large protest vote for Zhu. Li was eventually succeeded by Zhu Rongji after the former's second term expired in 1998.<ref name=":3" />

Li began two [[megaproject]]s when he was the Premier. He initiated the construction of the [[Three Gorges Dam]] on 14 December 1994, and later began preparations for the [[Shenzhou spacecraft|Shenzhou Manned Space Program]]. Both programs were subject to much controversy within China and abroad. The Shenzhou program was especially criticized for its extraordinary cost (tens of billions of dollars). Many economists and humanitarians suggested that those billions in capital might be better invested in helping the Chinese population deal with economic hardships and improvement in China's education, health services, and legal system.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lan |first=Chen |date=2004 |title=Pre-Shenzhou Studies |url=http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/launchpad/1921/story-7.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311160440/http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/launchpad/1921/story-7.htm |archive-date=11 March 2007 |website=Shenzhou History}}</ref>

In 1996, Li started one of the earliest controls of the Chinese government over the Internet when he signed State Council Order No. 195, issuing the "Interim Regulations on the Management of International Networking of Computer Information Networks". Article 6 of the Regulations states: "Computer information networks that directly connect to the international network must use the international entry and exit channels provided by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications’ national public telecommunications network. No unit or individual may establish or use other channels to connect to the international network on their own." This regulation was later widely used to punish "climbing over the [[Great Firewall|firewall]]".<ref name="solidot0924">{{cite news |author=Edwards |date=2023-09-24 |title=网友称为境外公司远程工作被没收所有违法所得 |url=https://www.solidot.org/story?sid=76177 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105030111/https://www.solidot.org/story?sid=76177 |archive-date=2024-01-05 |access-date=2024-01-15 |work=[[Solidot]]}}</ref>