When pro-democracy activists flooded Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, the Communist party boss of the time was reluctant to crush the demonstration by force. A brief power struggle ensued, which he, Zhao Ziyang, lost.
Somewhere between a few hundred and a few thousand peaceful demonstrators were subsequently murdered by the regime.
Zhao spent the past 15 years -- the last of his life -- under house arrest. He died earlier today.
The dictators in Beijing have forbidden the nation's news agencies (all of which are of course government-owned) from reporting on Zhao's death.
Hundreds of thousands of liberal demonstrators have taken to the streets all over the world to condemn China's ongoing oppressive dictatorship and call for democratization and individual liberty.
Yes, I made that last part up.
Posted by Andrew Coulson at January 17, 2005 04:00 PM | TrackBackThanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
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