Page 6 - China Destination Guide - Alluring Asia

proclaimed a catastrophe. Hua Guofeng a protégé of Mao was replaced as Premier in 1980 by reformist Sichuan party Chief Zhao Ziyang and as party General Secretary in 1981 by the even more reformist Communist Youth League chairman Hu Yaobang. Reform policies brought great improvements in the standard of living especially for urban workers and for farmers who took advantage of opportunities to diversify crops and establish village industries. At the PAGE 3 same time however political dissent as well as social Population | Time | Visas Tiananmen Square to mourn Hu's death and to Insurance | History problems such as inflation urban migration and prostitution emerged. Although students and protest against those who would slow reform. Their PAGE 4-6 intellectuals urged greater reforms some party elders protests which grew despite government efforts to History contain them called for an end to official corruption increasingly questioned the pace and the ultimate and for defense of freedoms guaranteed by the PAGE 7 goals of the reform program. In December of 1986 Government | Language student demonstrators taking advantage of the Chinese Constitution. Protests also spread through many other cities including Shanghai and loosening political atmosphere staged protests PAGE 8 Guangzhou. against the slow pace of reform confirming party Climate elders' fear that the current reform program was PAGE 9 leading to social instability. Hu Yaobang a protégé of Martial law was declared on May 20,1989. Late on The Land | People | Religion June 3rd and early on the morning of June 4th Deng and a leading advocate of reform was blamed military units were brought into Beijing. They used PAGE 10 for the protests and forced to resign as CCP General Currency | Credit Cards Secretary in January 1987. armed force to clear demonstrators from the streets. Changing Money | Tipping There are no official estimates of deaths in Beijing but most observers believe that casualties numbered 1989 Student Movement and Tiananmen Square PAGE 11 Etiquette | Health & Vaccinations After Zhao became the party General Secretary the in the hundreds. economic and political reforms he had championed PAGE 12 After June 4th while foreign governments expressed came under increasing attack. His proposal in May Communications | What to Pack horror at the brutal suppression of the 1988 to accelerate price reform led to widespread demonstrators the central government eliminated PAGE 13 popular complaints about rampant inflation and gave Shopping | Customs opponents of rapid reform the opening to call for remaining sources of organized opposition and detained large numbers of protesters. They also greater centralization of economic controls and PAGE 14-15 required political reeducation not only for students, Food & Drinks stricter prohibitions against Western influence. This but also for large numbers of party cadre and precipitated a political debate which grew more PAGE 16-17 heated through the winter of 1988-9. government officials. Culture & The Arts | Religion Third Generation of Leaders The death of Hu Yaobang on April 15,1989 coupled with growing economic hardship caused by high Deng's health deteriorated in the years prior to his inflation provided the backdrop for a large scale death in 1997. During that time President Jiang protest movement by student intellectuals and other Zemin and other members of his generation parts of a disaffected urban population. University gradually assumed control of the day-to-day students and other citizens in Beijing camped out at functions of government. This "third generation" leadership governs collectively with President Jiang at the center. China is firmly committed to economic reform and opening to the outside world. The Chinese leadership has identified reform of state industries as a government priority. Government strategies for achieving that goal include large-scale privatization of unprofitable state-owned enterprises. xxx