A Song was Heard in China - A Different Tiananmen

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A Song was Heard in China
A Different Tiananmen

Preface
Hello everybody, I would like to present you my first TL - A Song was Heard in China. While I do unwillingly agree that China, without fundamental rights and democracy, continues to experience economic boom post-Tiananmen; China could never be a truly civilized nation without political modernization and respect for human rights.

Nowadays, the Hu Jintao regime has repeatedly emphasized the importance of a "harmonious society". Using this as an excuse, many online messages are censored for the sake of harmony. Chinese people call this kind of so-called harmony "River Crabs", which has the same pronunciation of "harmony" in China. Officials argue that dissident views must be suppressed in order to protect the economic achievements of the past 20 years, and to promote a so-called harmonious society.

Nevertheless, a truly harmonious society can never be achieved through suppression and white terror. Without free speech and basic human rights, deeply-rooted problems in society would only be deepened day by day.

Some may think that a successful Tiananmen was totally ASB, but I think otherwise. Things could still have been changed even after the April 26th Editorial. I am trying to make the latest possible POD in this TL, slightly AFTER the April 26th Editorial. At the same time, I tend to agree with Zhao Ziyang, as stated in his memoirs, that China would need a rather long transition to parliamentary democracy.

The gradual transition to democracy in this TL would be primarily based on Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang, and the ideas of Yen Jiaqi, an advocate of federal republicanism and an aide of Zhao who fled China after Tiananmen in OTL.

Preview
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[Above: Chengdu, Sichuan, China (May 1989)]

"A song was heard in China
in the city of Beijing.
In the spring of 1989
you could hear the people sing.
And it was the song of freedom
that was ringing in the square,
the world could feel the passion of
the people gathered there"...

"For many nights and many days,
waiting in the square.
'To build a better nation'
was the song that echoed there.
For we are China's children,
we love our native land,
for brotherhood and freedom
we are joining hand in hand."

- Phillip Morgan​

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[Above: Beijing, China (May 1989)]


"That disillusionment came from a series of market-oriented reforms begun a decade earlier, in 1978. While the changes produced rapid economic growth, they also led to contradictions: opening the economy negated the moral authority of the Communist revolution and unleashed unbridled corruption in its place. The 1989 democracy movement had two slogans. One was "freedom and democracy", and the other was 'no official business dealings, no corruption.'"
- The Path to Freedom by Yang Jianli

"The Tiananmen movement has become the watershed of not just China, but the world’s contemporary history and politics. After the fall of Li Peng, the government of East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Mongolia fell one by one. No one could halt the historical trend of democracy and freedom."
- Prof Joseph Cheang, Professor of Political Science, City University of Hong Kong

"In the spring of 1989, during their resistance on the streets, people started to communicate with each other freely. All of them suddenly found out that everyone else’s thought were the same as their own, thus their confidence was significantly boosted and the number of people demonstrating on the streets increased; the slogans against Communism became more and more in open. Afterwards the media also openly stood on people’s side, the democratic movement became a movement of all the people"
- Wei Jingsheng, former Chinese Prime Minister

"Next year, we will be remembering the 30th anniversary of the Cultural Revolution. One more year later, it will be the 40th anniversary of the Anti-Rightist Movement. Thanks to the gradual reforms these years, we are allowed to carry out non-official research, and the people are getting to know more. Nevertheless, how many people in their early 30s could truly understand what has happened? As we are embracing the Beijing Olympics in 2000, it is now time for Beijing to declassify all relevant historical documents. Only when we can bravely face history, could China become a truly modernized nation."
- Governor Liu Binyan of Jilin (below), the first opposition governor in China, addressing the people of Jilin in May 1995
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Looks very interesting! I am looking forward to seeing more of this.
(BTW, spell check has tricked you. It put "river curbs" instead of "crabs" there at the top.)
 
For all of the grim fun of dystopias, at the end of the day nothing makes my heart gladder then to read a well-researched, well-written TL where things end up better then OTL.

Good luck!
 

loughery111

Banned
I do have to object to the idea that "civilized nations" must be democracies. I have my fair share of problems with the Chinese government and CCP both, but I'm impressed on a continuing basis with the openness and cosmopolitanism of the people here; there were 7 languages being spoken when a friend here invited me to meet his fiancée's family here in Beijing. I'd hardly be prepared to consider the nation uncivilized simply because it doesn't fit into a purely Western cultural mold.

Anyway, looks like a good start otherwise. Good luck.
 
This is really cool. Im wondering what kind of government takes hold. A US style presidential republic, or a European style parliamentary democracy. Also, how free market will their economy become? So many questions!

subscribed.
 
I do have to object to the idea that "civilized nations" must be democracies. I have my fair share of problems with the Chinese government and CCP both, but I'm impressed on a continuing basis with the openness and cosmopolitanism of the people here; there were 7 languages being spoken when a friend here invited me to meet his fiancée's family here in Beijing. I'd hardly be prepared to consider the nation uncivilized simply because it doesn't fit into a purely Western cultural mold.

Anyway, looks like a good start otherwise. Good luck.

One could argue that while the *nation* of China is civilized, the government most certainly is not. That's the distinction I'd make.
 
I do have to object to the idea that "civilized nations" must be democracies. I have my fair share of problems with the Chinese government and CCP both, but I'm impressed on a continuing basis with the openness and cosmopolitanism of the people here; there were 7 languages being spoken when a friend here invited me to meet his fiancée's family here in Beijing. I'd hardly be prepared to consider the nation uncivilized simply because it doesn't fit into a purely Western cultural mold.
I have no problem with the Chinese people themselves (except that too many of them seem overly nationalist, but I have the same problem with my fellow USians), but the Chinese government is in no way civilized. Many of the protesters in the Tienanmen Square Massacre were students from the local Beijing universities. That means that not only were they China's "best and brightest", but in many cases they were the sons and daughters of the Chinese ruling classes--the very people who ordered the military to massacre the protesters. Thousands of people were killed, for no "crime" other than calling for a government in China that was in some way responsible to the people it ruled. Until the government of China is at least willing to admit the massacre was wrong, and take steps to prevent it from repeating in the future, I am not willing to call that government "civilized".

Also, I have to take issue with the fact that you seem to be equating democracy as Western cultural norms. After all, the most populous democracy on Earth is India, not some Western nation. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India--each of these nations is a democracy, and not one of them is "Western". I am sick and tired of people apologizing for dictatorships in Russia, the Middle East, China, and elsewhere by saying "Well, that's just their *culture*".
 
Looks very interesting! I am looking forward to seeing more of this.
(BTW, spell check has tricked you. It put "river curbs" instead of "crabs" there at the top.)
Fixed, thanks:)

For all of the grim fun of dystopias, at the end of the day nothing makes my heart gladder then to read a well-researched, well-written TL where things end up better then OTL.

Good luck!
Well, I would not comment on whether this TL would turn out rather dystopian after some time:D, despite my strong support for a democratic China.

I do have to object to the idea that "civilized nations" must be democracies. I have my fair share of problems with the Chinese government and CCP both, but I'm impressed on a continuing basis with the openness and cosmopolitanism of the people here; there were 7 languages being spoken when a friend here invited me to meet his fiancée's family here in Beijing. I'd hardly be prepared to consider the nation uncivilized simply because it doesn't fit into a purely Western cultural mold.

Anyway, looks like a good start otherwise. Good luck.
Thanks a lot for your comment. I have a different definition of civilization here, but I don't mean to say that Chinese people are not civilized. If such misunderstanding is created, I sincerely apologize. I'm indeed talking about the government and the legal system.

Nevertheless, I would never say democracy is exclusively Western culture. Just as what mcdo has mentioned, India, Japan and South Korea are all non-Western democracies. Think of Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen, many leading opponents of the government are rather anti-Western.

At the same time, I sincerely hope that you can continue to point out if you find my TL too "Western-minded", since that's something I would really like to avoid.

This is not a plot spoiler since I would not cover this topic too heavily ITTL - despite my personal stance on Tibet, I can ceratinly say that Tibet would not gain independence in TTL. Tibetan independence would be absolutely ASB with a POD after 1978, even if the lenient racial policies of Hu Yaobang could continue in TTL.

This is really cool. Im wondering what kind of government takes hold. A US style presidential republic, or a European style parliamentary democracy. Also, how free market will their economy become? So many questions!

subscribed.
Concerning the type of government, you can look for some essays written by Yan Jiaqi for some hints. Yan, an Zhao aide, would become much more prominent after a few updates. Still have problems translating his work from Chinese into English.

One could argue that while the *nation* of China is civilized, the government most certainly is not. That's the distinction I'd make.
Generally agree. Yet, when it comes to food safety and fake products, it's not only about the government.

Next Update (2-in-1):
Part 1 Mourning a hero (April 8-25, 1989)
(nothing different from OTL, just in case some AH.com members may not be that familiar with the Tiananmen protests)

Part 2 Conflicts and Dialogue (April 26 - May 19, 1989)
 
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Now this is interesting. I always wondered about an alternate Tiananmen TL, besides from the usually discussed (though rarely attempted) KMT Civil War victory TL, or Hendryk's excellent Superpower Empire TL.

Consider me a subscriber.

BTW, I do wonder how secure AH.com's servers are, we sure don't want any meddling apologist Fenqings and "50 cent Gang" to stumble upon this place by accident and start spamming this place, or worse, DDoS it for it being a "threat to National Security" and all that rhetorical Party BS.
 
Part 1 Mourning a Hero

OOC: Part 1 is nothing different from OTL. It is written just in case some AH.com members may not be that familiar with the Tiananmen protests.

Mourning a Hero
(Apr 8-25, 1989)

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"1989 was a rather unusual year. Just after the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, another energetic and healthy leader suddenly passed away. He was Hu Yaobang, the former General Secretary of the Communist Party.

It was the 8th of April. The meeting began at 9am. The Politburo was talking about the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Issues Concerning Education Development and Reform (Draft), which was to be approved by the the 4th Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee later.

The staff began to read the draft. After 40 minutes, Li Tieying began to talk. Suddenly, Hu Yaobang stood up and said, 'My chest is rather tight, it's unbearable!' His face was pale as ashes. We knew that something had gone terribly wrong. It was 9:48.

Sitting next to Hu was General Qin Jiwei. 'Call a doctor!' shouted General Qin.

Within a few minutes, both eyes of Yaobang closed. He cannot speak. The hall was in a state of fear. Shanghai CPC Secretary Jiang Zemin came forward and took out a first-aid box.

After the doctors came, it was decided that we should not move the body of Hu Yaobang. The meeting was moved to another room, only Wen Jiabao stayed in the room with us. After another hour, Yaobang was transferred to the Beijing Hospital.

Due to the effort of doctors, the condition of Yaobang was rather stable for the next three days, and I fled Beijing. Suddenly, I heard of his death in Hainan. Totally shocked. I immediately took a plane back to Beijing.

The doctors told me that it was all because Yaobang refused to rest quietly. He did not want to stay calmly on his bed. Until the very last minute of his life, he was still working for the best of our great nation."
- My Years in Zhongnanhai by Wang Minqing, former Central Health Secretary of Zhongnanhai


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"So why was the students reacting so strongly to the death of Yaobang? Firstly, the image of Yaobang was perfect. He tried to rehabilitate the people who were wrongly persecuted during the Cultural Revolution.

Secondly, Yaobang was clean. Angered by widespread corruption in the Party, the students wanted to make another 1976 - to express their discontent through mourning their hero.

Thirdly, the students were angered by the way Yaobang was forced to resign in 1987. After all, they found the so-called Movement against bourgeois liberalism completely nonsense.

Lastly, the pace of reform slowed down after the Politburo decided to adopt the policy of improvement and rectification."

- Journey of the Reforms by Zhao Ziyang




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"On 18th April, tens of thousands of university students gathered in front of the Tiananmen Square. They made 7 demands, including the full rehabilitation of Hu Yaobang and democratic reforms. The Government sent Chan Xitong, Liu Yandong and Wang Shixiong to meet them. Failing to acheive anything, students crashed with the police outside the Xinhuamen on the following day. More than 300 was injured, including a Hong Kong reporter."
- Tiananmen and Me by Jiang Jielian [1]











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"On 21st April, angered by police suppression, students boycotted classes. I and another 46 intellectuals, including Li Zehou and Bao Zunxin, signed a petition to the State Council, calling for the recognition of the moderate demands put forward by the students."
- 1989 by Yan Jiaqi [2]










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"On 22nd April, we organised an official memorial ceremony for Yaobang. I delievered an eulogy during the ceremony. To prevent the further escalation of the crisis, we allowed tens of thousands of students to gather at the Tiananmen Square. Had I not gone to North Korea, I am quite confident that the students would have resumed classes since their anger had already been peacefully released.


After the memorial ceremony, I went to Pyongyang. Before I went, I suggested my comrades to consider 3 things while I was not there. Firstly, the memorial was over. Order should be enforced. Secondly, we should take this golden opportunity to open direct dialogue with students. Through communication, we could have made society more harmonious. Lastly, prevent blood at all cost. However, rioters should be stopped at first instance. Everyone, including Li Peng, agreed with me.

I left Beijing to Pyongyang in the afternoon of 23rd April. So how come the crisis would escalate? It was all about the April 26th Editorial."

- Journey of the Reforms by Zhao Ziyang




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[1] Jiang Jielian (1972-), son of Professor Ding Zilin, he was a secondary student during the Tiananmen protests. Entered the University of Peking in 1991, Jiang subsequently became the President of the Autonomous Student Union of the University of Peking in 1992. He was elected to the Federal House of Representatives representing the 16th District of Beijing in 2001. (In OTL, he was killed during the Tiananmen Massacre.)

[2] Yan Jiaqi (1942-), President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2003-). A political advisor of Zhao Ziyang during the 1980s, he was one of the leading intellectuals supporting the student movement in 1989. In 199X, he helped draft the Constitution of the _______ ________ of China.:)D) (In OTL, he fled China after the Tiananmen Massacre.)

Next update within 3 hours, where the POD will be disclosed and the story will officially begun:
Part 2 Conflicts and Dialogue (April 26 - May 19, 1989)
Time to eat, see you later:D
 
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Hendryk

Banned
I remember Tiananmen, that was the first time in my life I paid attention to Chinese politics. 自由 was the first Chinese word I ever learned, and I've had a soft spot for Zhao Ziyang since then. I even tried to fit him into my own TL, though I had to give up on that for obvious reasons of plausibility.

So, I'm curious about this TL and where it will go. Keep up the good work.
 
Good idea for a TL. Hopefully China can avoid all the problems that Gorbachev had with glasnost and perestroika. They'll probably have to acknowledge the students' wishes but take nevertheless things rather slowly. In any case, not having a massacre would be a good start.
 
Also, I have to take issue with the fact that you seem to be equating democracy as Western cultural norms. After all, the most populous democracy on Earth is India, not some Western nation. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India--each of these nations is a democracy, and not one of them is "Western". I am sick and tired of people apologizing for dictatorships in Russia, the Middle East, China, and elsewhere by saying "Well, that's just their *culture*".

I absolutely agree. A few decades ago, the same apology could have been made for Germany just not bein the right culture for a functioning democracy.

I look very much forward for the long-term development in this timeline. Imagining a democratic China (a true People's Republic of China) should be something we -and our politicians- should do more training in, so that once the time comes, we wouldn't react as helplessly as in Arabia recently.
 
Part 2-1 Conflicts and Dialogue (1)

Conflicts and Dialogue
(Apr 26 - May 19, 1989)
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People's Daily said:
April 26 Editorial
(CLEARLY RAISE THE BANNER OF OPPOSITION TO THE TURMOIL)
In their activities to mourn the death of Comrade Hu Yaobang, communists, workers, peasants, intellectuals, cadres, members of the People's Liberation Army and young students have expressed their grief in various ways. They have also expressed their determination to turn grief into strength to make contributions in realizing the four modernizations and invigorating the Chinese nation.

Some abnormal phenomena have also occurred during the mourning activities. Taking advantage of the situation, an extremely small number of people spread rumors, attacked party and state leaders by name, and instigated the masses to break into the Xinhua Gate at Zhongnanhai, where the party Central Committee and the State Council are located. Some people even shouted such reactionary slogans as, Down with the Communist Party. In Xi'an and Changsha, there have been serious incidents in which some lawbreakers carried out beating, smashing, looting, and burning.

Taking into consideration the feelings of grief suffered by the masses, the party and government have adopted an attitude of tolerance and restraint toward some improper words uttered and actions carried out by the young students when they were emotionally agitated. On April 22, before the memorial meeting was held, some students had already showed up at Tiananmen Square, but they were not asked to leave, as they normally would have been. Instead, they were asked to observe discipline and join in the mourning for Comrade Hu Yaobang. The students on the square were themselves able to consciously maintain order. [Beijing Xinhua Domestic Service in Chinese at 1400 GMT on April 25, reporting on the April 26 Renmin ribao editorial, deletes this sentence.] Owing to the joint efforts by all concerned, it was possible for the memorial meeting to proceed in a solemn and respectful manner.

However, after the memorial meeting, an extremely small number of people with ulterior purposes continued to take advantage of the young students' feelings of grief for Comrade Hu Yaobang to spread all kinds of rumors to poison and confuse people's minds. Using both big- and small-character posters, they vilified, hurled invectives at, and attacked party and state leaders. Blatantly violating the Constitution, they called for opposition to the leadership by the Communist Party and the socialist system. In some of the institutions of higher learning, illegal organizations were formed to seize power from the student unions. In some cases, they even forcibly took over the broadcasting systems on the campuses. In some institutions of higher learning, they instigated the students and teachers to go on strike and even went to the extent of forcibly preventing students from going to classes, usurped the name of the workers' organizations to distribute reactionary handbills, and established ties everywhere in an attempt to create even more serious incidents.

These facts prove that what this extremely small number of people did was not to join in the activities to mourn Comrade Hu Yaobang or to advance the course of socialist democracy in China. Neither were they out to give vent to their grievances. Flaunting the banner of democracy, they undermined democracy and the legal system. Their purpose was to sow dissension among the people, plunge the whole country into chaos and sabotage the political situation of stability and unity. This is a planned conspiracy and a disturbance. Its essence is to, once and for all, negate the leadership of the CPC and the socialist system. This is a serious political struggle confronting the whole party and the people of all nationalities throughout the country.

If we are tolerant of or conniving with this disturbance and let it go unchecked, a seriously chaotic state will appear. Then, the reform and opening up; the improvement of the economic environment and the rectification of the economic order, construction, and development; the control over prices; the improvement of our living standards; the drive to oppose corruption; and the development of democracy and the legal system expected by the people throughout the country, including the young students, will all become empty hopes. Even the tremendous achievements scored in the reform during the past decade may be completely lost, and the great aspiration of the revitalization of China cherished by the whole nation will be hard to realize. A China with very good prospects and a very bright future will become a chaotic and unstable China without any future.

The whole party and the people nationwide should fully understand the seriousness of this struggle, unite to take a clear-cut stand to oppose the disturbance, and firmly preserve the hard-earned situation of political stability and unity, the Constitution, socialist democracy, and the legal system. Under no circumstances should the establishment of any illegal organizations be allowed. It is imperative to firmly stop any acts that use any excuse to infringe upon the rights and interests of legitimate organizations of students. Those who have deliberately fabricated rumors and framed others should be investigated to determine their criminal liabilities according to law. Bans should be placed on unlawful parades and demonstrations and on such acts as going to factories, rural areas, and schools to establish ties. Beating, smashing, looting, and burning should be punished according to law. It is necessary to protect the just rights of students to study in class. The broad masses of students sincerely hope that corruption will be eliminated and democracy will be promoted. These, too, are the demands of the party and the government. These demands can only be realized by strengthening the efforts for improvement and rectification, vigorously pushing forward the reform, and making perfect our socialist democracy and our legal system under the party leadership.

All comrades in the party and the people throughout the country must soberly recognize the fact that our country will have no peaceful days if this disturbance is not checked resolutely. This struggle concerns the success or failure of the reform and opening up, the program of the four modernizations, and the future of our state and nation. Party organizations of the CPC at all levels, the broad masses of members of the Communist Party and the Communist Youth League, all democratic parties and patriotic democratic personages, and the people around the country should make a clear distinction between right and wrong, take positive action, and struggle to firmly and quickly stop the disturbance.

"On April 25, Deng declared that the demonstrations constituted a 'conspiracy' or 'turmoil' that must be suppressed. At his direction, two party writers formerly connected with the Cultural Revolution and the 1986 'Anti-Bourgeois Liberlization' campaign, wrote an editorial for the April 26 issue of People's Daily entitled "CLEARLY RAISE THE BANNER OF OPPOSITION TO THE TURMOIL".

The essence of the article was that the government was locked in a grand political struggle against a "turmoil" that had as its target the destruction of party leadership and the socialist system. Capitulation to student demands, it warned, would turn a promising country into a hopeless, turbulent one. The contents of the editorial were wired to Zhao Ziyang, who was visiting North Korea, and received his endorsement in principle.

It was apparent at the time that the hardliners had won Deng over to their cause, just as they had 2 years earlier, and that the party would take a tougher stand against the demonstrators.

When Zhao returned home, he was urged by his close advisors, Bao Tong and Du Runsheng to refute the April 26 editorial, and to fight for an affirmation of the student action as spontaneous, patriotic, and in conformity with the government's own anti-corruption policy."
- The Rise of Modern China by Immanuel C. Y. Hsu

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"The Editorial directly took students to the streets the following day (April 27). Party organs, schools and democratic parties[1] were outraged. At the same time, Li Peng decided to quote Deng's April 25 Speech in front of party members in Beijing. Immediately, Deng's family members blamed him for hurting the image of Deng.

Deng Xiaoping himself also felt that his image has been badly affected. Wanting to soften his image, he asked Deng Rong to contact me via Bao Tong, seeking my help, on the grounds that the Editorial would not be revised."
- Journey of the Reforms by Zhao Ziyang

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"While I was in North Korea, the World Economic Herald incident took place. The Herald honestly and correctly reported the events in Beijing, and was sympathetic to the fate of Yaobang. On April 26, Shanghai CPC Secretary Jiang Zemin sacked Chief Editor Qin Benli. I would never have approved such actions, and the dismissal of Qin sparked immediate protests in Shanghai.

We were in deep embarrassment afterwards. I cannot come out and say, 'Jiang Zemin, you are wrong'. As a result, we took a non-intervention approach. "
- Journey of the Reforms by Zhao Ziyang

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"Zhao tried his best to reverse the April 26 editorial, but to no avail. Then on May 4, the day that huge protests took place in Shanghai and Beijing, in a speech to an Asia Development Bank meeting in Beijing, Zhao promised that the government would follow a cool, reasoned, disciplined, and orderly way of resolving problems in a democratic and lawful manner."[2]
- The Rise of Modern China by Immanuel C. Y. Hsu

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"It was the 70th anniversary of the May 4th Movement. Students and journalists in not only Beijing and Shanghai, but also Nanjing, Xi'an, Hanzhou, Wuhan, Changsha and Guangzhou took to the streets. Seemingly, the movement in Tiananmen Square has spreaded to every major city. Had the situation worsened, the hardliners would have convinced Deng to take harsh actions. I believed that I had to turn things around before a tragedy took place.

After the mass media helped spread my speech throughout the nation, students reacted overwhelmingly positive, and many of them resumed classes. Yang Shangkun told me that my speech was excellent. Even Li Peng couldn't but praise my speech. The solution was within out sight.

That night, I phoned Zhu Rongji, the Mayor of Shanghai. I urged him to follow strictly the spirit of my speech, to ease tenstion and communicate with the journalists and students. [3]

Our previous non-intervention approach on the World Economic Herald was definitely stupid, and our indecision had brought every major city into trouble.

On May 5, I met with Ding Shisun of the University of Peking. That afternoon, I met with the leaders of the China Democratic League. I felt that society was overwhelmingly sympathetic to the students, and the April 26 Editorial was unpopular. It strengthened my determination that dialogue but not brutal suppression was the only way out. Things had to be settled down in a democratic and lawful manner.

Earlier in my speech to the Asia Development Bank, I have already made it specific that dialogue was the only solution to the problems ahead. The people would like to voice their opinion on issues like corruption, governmental transparency and political reform. Yang Shangkun, Qiao Shi and Wan Li all agreed that the situation cannot further worsen since Gorbachev was about to come, so they said yes to my new approach[4].


Fearing that the hardliners would halt our effort in communicating with the students, I urged Wan Li to cancel his trip to Canada and the United States.

When Wan Li suggested this in a Politburo meeting 2 days later, Li Peng and Yao Yilin immediately opposed, claiming that Wan should continue his trip to show that everything was ususal here in China. Before Li and Yao approached Deng, Wan Li met Deng in person.

He convinced Deng that he had to stay in China, in order to use every possible means to defend the people's republic and crush all counterrevolutionary activities. Deng agreed, and therefore Wan Li postponed his trip until August.[5]"
- Journey of the Reforms by Zhao Ziyang

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"No one would say a word against the May 4th Speech of Zhao Ziyang, but our concern was whether the government was sincere to talk to us. We did not know if it was another trick to stop our patriotic movement. On May 5, upon hearing that Qin Benli would be reinstated, I knew that we had won our first stage of victory.

That day, 32 tertiary institutions elected their own delegates to talk to the authorities. It was an important step towards our dream. Feeling that we have achieved enough, I was about to announce the immediate resume of all classes. Before I started, the newly elected delegates stopped me and asked me to wait until the reply of the authorities. They were right, when Qin Benli could be reinstated, our demand for open dialogue may also be fulfilled.

The delegates demanded direct dialogue with the Government, and we received the official reply on May 8 that Yan Mingfu was going to meet us 2 days later, and the meeting would be lively televised. It was a major victory of the students."

- Tiananmen and China by Zhou Yongjun [6]

[1] Eight registered minor parties in the so-called United Front under CPC direction, namely the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China Democratic National Construction Association, China Association for Promoting Democracy, China Zhi Gong Party, Jiusan Society, and Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League.

[2] In OTL, the draft of the speech was forwarded to every Politburo member, but it still became an "evidence" that forced him out, because Zhao implied that there was division in the party. In TTL, Zhao listened to Tian Jiyun, and did not mention such things in his speech.

[3] In OTL, Jiang Zemin would later ask for the advice from Zhao concerning how to handle the controversies surrounding the World Economic Herald, and Zhao said it should be decided by Shanghai. Earlier on May 5, the Shanghai party organ, under the direction of CPC Secretary Jiang Zemin, had already decided not to reverse the dismissal of Qin Benli.

In TTL, Zhao listened to Bao Tong, and immediately intervened after seeing protests in every major city. Shanghai Mayor Zhu Rongji forwarded Zhao's order to CPC Secretary Jiang Zemin, who reluctantly ordered the reinstatement of Qin Benli, thus prevented the escalation of the crisis in Shanghai.

[Below: Qin Benli meeting with editors of the World Economic Herald after reinstated Chief Editor of the paper]
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[4] As in OTL.

[5] In OTL, Wan Li would soon leave China to Canada and the United States, despte the opposition of Zhao Ziyang. Wan was at first rather sympathetic towards the students. Later when 57 NPC delegates called for an emergency meeting in response to the martial law, Wan was not in China and no action could be taken. As a result, the last legal method to stop the killing was halted.

In TTL, Wan Li cancelled his trip and stayed in China. He convinced Deng by showing his loyalty and determination to crush the "counterrevolutionary activities" through every possible means, despite that he would still side with Zhao under the table.

[6] In OTL, Zhou Yongjun announced on May 5 that all classes shall resume, losing him much credibility among the students during the later stage of the protests. Also, Yan Mingfu would not meet the students until May 14, one day before the arrival of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Next update before Sunday: Part 2-2 Conflicts and Dialogue (2)
 
Wow, this is impressive. Your grasp of all the background of the political ins-and-outs is remarkably thorough, but not to the point where it bogs the story down. And I think all your detail gives this timeline the potential to be very realistic. I'll definitely be following this!

One sidenote: was the account of Hu Yaobang's heart attack based on an OTL observer's account?
 
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