Puneet Varma (Editor)

Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters

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Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters was formed on May 24, 1989. The purpose of this organization was to create a strong leadership to lead the student movement.

Contents

Structure

Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters was set up by a small group of people. More than half of the organizations were famous student leaders of 1989 student protests. Chai Ling was prominent as commander-in-chief for the Square. There were six other key members in this organization, but not all of them were in charge of the group's decision making in the organization, Li Lu, Feng Congde, Zhang Boli, Wang Dan and Wang Chaohua were elected deputy commanders and Guo Haifeng was the secretary-general. In order to form this organization Zhang Boli and Feng Congde had to take a huge risk by returned from their safe houses. They became two very important key members of the team, along with Li Lu. (4) Even though Wang Dan was one of the deputy commanders, he was hardly involved in decision making. Shortly after the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters was formed, Wang Chaohua left the organization and announced his resignation due to their differences in decision making.

Oath

At 10:00 a.m. on May 24, 1989. Chai Ling led the formation of crowd in the annunciation of the following oath on the Tiananmen Square:

"I swear I will protect the republic and Tiananmen Square with my young life. Heads can roll, blood can flow, but the people's Square can never be lost! We are willing to fight to the last person."

According to Chai Ling's book A Heart for Freedom: The Remarkable Journey of a Young Dissident, her Daring Escape, and her Quest to Free China's Daughters, and Wu Renhua's book Major Events, Tiananmen 1989 at least one hundred thousand people gathered in the Square when Chai Ling took the oath. And some people joined them after Wang Dan announced the formation of the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters.

Actions

The Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters felt reasonable for the protest students in the Square. They established a few systems in order to take control and also take care of the students. The first thing they did was to set up a broadcasting system on the Square so they could quickly establish authority and issue instructions. Second, they built a defense line to control the flow of traffic around the Square. Third, they established a secure, central location for the headquarters so people would know where to find them and they would be able to protect the leaders dependably. They built a system to manage the donations of money and goods and to provide food and water to the people on the Square. Finally, they built a channel of communication to reach the news media.

Documents and events

The Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters released several documents during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

  • On May 24, 1989, the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters was formed. Wang Dan announced the formation of the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters, and Chai Ling lad students in the square took an oath. They made four decisions: 1. The organization will be responsible for the student safety in Tiananmen Square. 2. Chai Ling was chosen as the commander-in-chief. 3. Within 48 hours, the headquarters should finish reorganizing the Square. 4. From now on, all decision making meetings would have representatives from student groups, worker groups and business community.
  • On May 26, 1989, the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters invited students from Chinese Conservatory of Music to perform to help students in the Square to relax. Pop song singer Hou Dejian came to the square as well.
  • At 7:00 p.m. on May 28, 1989, the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters announced the students will stay in the Square until June 20. Wang Dan, student leader and also the deputy commander, disagreed with this decision and left the headquarters.
  • On May 29, 1989, the deputy commander of The Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters Feng Congde admitted the headquarters had some problems of managing the donations they had received. He promised the headquarters would form a supervisory team to fix the mess.
  • On May 30, 1989. Feng Congde and Li Lu formed a new organization, and commander-in-chief Chai Ling could not be found anywhere in the square. The headquarters was planning to have a victory parade, but no one was organizing it.
  • On June 1, 1989, the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters held a press conference to report that Commander-in-chief Chai Ling and her husband Feng Congde were almost got kidnapped by three unknown "students". They believed those men were sent by the government to damage the student organization.
  • On June 2, 1989. The commander-in-chief Chai Ling represent the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters accepted the interview of Phillip J. Cunningham. And later this interview was played by the BBC News. She introduced the situation of Government kept ignore the students demands to the British audiences, and the hunger strike situation in China. She was hoping people in other countries could support their activities.
  • On June 3, 1989 an "Emergency Mobilization Order" was issued in the name of the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters. The "Emergency Mobilization Order" reaffirmed the idea of "Overthrowing the Li Peng's Government" and they wanted Chinese people to always remember the behavior of Li Peng's government. And they were hoping the army would choose the student side rather than the "Fake Government's" side.

    • References

    Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA