Wednesday, 26 May, 2004, 23:39 GMT 00:39 UK Witnessing Tiananmen: Protests mount

Students from dozens of universities joined the 27 April protest Fifteen years ago, China witnessed huge protests and calls for change, before these were brutally crushed by tanks around Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The BBC's Chinese Service has interviewed some of those who witnessed the protests and subsequent bloodshed. Gao Wenqian was working at the Central Party Literature Research Centre in the Chinese capital at the time. He witnessed the 27 April demonstration sparked by student fury at an editorial in the People's Daily that said their gatherings in Tiananmen Square were aimed at stirring up unrest: We had already heard from informed sources in our organisation about the number of troops the government was preparing to despatch for the occasion. The 38 army unit, armed police forces and local security units were all called up to get ready. 1989 TIANANMEN EVENTS 15 April - reformist leader Hu Yaobang dies 22 April - Hu's memorial service, thousands call for faster reforms 13 May - Students begin hunger strike as power struggle grips Communist party 15 May - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev visits China 19 May - Zhao Ziyang (pictured) makes tearful appeal to students to leave 20 May - martial law declared in Beijing 3-4 June - Security forces clear the square, killing hundreds Background to Tiananmen   da http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/default.stm The troops, it was said, were not necessarily to be used to suppress the student demonstration. The prime concern and intention was to prevent the students from leaving their campuses. Students would be stopped from coming out of their universities. "Stop them and block them!" - that was the order given. We were rather concerned about such tactics. I remember very clearly the events on that day. I was on my way to the office. People kept coming up and telling me where the students were at any particular time. Students had now broken out of Zhong Guan Cun [campus of Qinghua University]. [...]