The Chinese government and press almost never discuss the mass demonstrations in 1989 which filled Tiananmen Square for many weeks, ending with the military forcing the mainly youth out on June 4, 1989. However, in conjunction with the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, the party released a document on June 5 titled “CPC Emerges Stronger, firmer to original aspirations through the haze of the 1980s.” It essentially blames the unrest on the dramatic slowdown in growth caused by the chaos of the Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976, but emphasizes that China, by shutting down the Tiananmen demonstrations, had avoided the drastic economic chaos in the nations of the Soviet Union after the collapse of communism (described in the book by Sergei Glazyev, translated by EIR, “Genocide: Russia and the New World Order,” https://store.larouchepub.com/product-p/eirbk-1999-2-0-0.htm ), and allowed for the spectacular development of China over the last thirty-two years.
“From the late 1980s to early 1990s, not only China, but the whole socialist bloc, including the Soviet Union and many Eastern and Central European countries, encountered a huge wave of ‘liberalization’’ or `democratization,’ which in fact was Westernization,” the report says.
“The CPC leaders, just like their comrades in Europe, were facing a decision — to insist on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and keep the Party’s original aspiration; or give up socialism like what the European comrades did and embrace Westernization….
“Because of the Cultural Revolution, China’s development fell behind most other countries of the world. When some Chinese people, officials and intellectuals, engaged with the world and saw the advancement and prosperity of the West through travelling abroad, listening to VOA [Voice of America] news, watching Hollywood movies and drinking Coca Cola, they felt shocked, and lost the confidence to keep going on the path of socialism, said some analysts.”
They quote an unnamed former student who had participated in the 1989 demonstrations:
