Editing Li Peng (section)

===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}}