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| 1986, Dec |
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| Student demonstrators in Hefei, Anhui Province (Dec. 5, 9), and later in Wuhan, called for greater democratization. Posters soon went up on several campuses in Beijing. The government banned all such activities, but the students continued undaunted. On Dec. 20, some 30,000 marched in Shanghai. Later demonstrations occurred in Tianjin and Nanjing. Over 1 million students were sent down to the countryside for summer vacation. | 1 |
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| 1987, Jan |
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| An immense demonstration and rally took place in Tiananmen Square. The intellectuals who supported the students, such as Fang Lizhi (b. 1936) and Liu Binyan (b. 1925), were attacked by the government for “bourgeois liberalism.” On Jan. 16, Hu Yaobang himself resigned as party secretary-general, allegedly for having been the cause of the discord. | 2 |
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| Oct. 25 |
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| The 13th Congress of the CCP met in Beijing. Pernicious Western influences notwithstanding, Zhao Ziyang called for keeping the development of a market economy on track. On Nov. 1, it was announced that old-timers Deng Xiaoping, Peng Zhen, and Chen Yun (b. 1900) would step down from the Central Committee of the party. Zhao Ziyang was elected secretary-general of the party (Nov. 2), and he named Li Peng (b. 1928) acting premier (late November). | 3 |
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