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more big political mistake might well cost us all our remaining legiti-
macy. So I see martial law as extremely dangerous. The Chinese people
cannot take any more huge policy blunders. (Zhang 2001, 192)
At this meeting Deng and his hard-line supporters decided two
things: the students' demands for democracy and freedom in China
would mean the dissolution of the Communist Party's power, which
they absolutely would not tolerate, and the protest movements could
be quelled only by force.
On May 18, the government finally agreed to meet with student pro-
test leaders, but the students were not satisfied with the conditions.
Premier Li Peng and two other high officials met with student leaders
Wuer Kaixi, Wang Dan, and others, but Li Peng insisted that the only
subject for the dialogue would be how to help the students on hunger
strike. The fiery Wuer Kaixi was incensed at this and repeatedly inter-
rupted Li Peng, demanding that other matters be addressed. Wang
Dan demanded that the government retract the April 26 editorial, rec-
ognize the peaceful and patriotic nature of the protests, and broadcast
the dialogue. Li Peng, stunned at Wuer Kaixi's temerity and the stark-
ness of Wang Dan's demands, ended the meeting.
The next day, an infuriated Deng Xiaoping stated in a Politburo
meeting that he would never allow a reversal of the April 26 editorial.
Only 2 of the 18 members at the meeting declined to label the move-
ment a riot. One of them was Zhao Ziyang, and Deng ever after
viewed him as a traitor and stripped him of all power. Nevertheless,
that day Zhao went out to the square and spoke tearily with the stu-
dents, knowing what they did not: the movement would be crushed
byforceifitdidnotdisperseofitsownaccord.Heconvincedthem
to end their hunger strike.
The next day, May 20, Premier Li Peng announced the imposition of
martial law in Beijing. No more protests or marches would be permit-
ted, and news coverage would henceforth be censored. Satellite broad-
casts of the movement by foreign television crews was cut. Ominously,
large numbers of troops and armored personnel carriers began rum-
bling about Beijing streets.
By May 24 Beijing was full of soldiers. Perhaps the students should
have realized that something foreboding was in the offing, but several
thousand of them vowed to continue their occupation of Tiananmen
Square no matter what. The government, for its part, was determined
to bring the movement to a decisive end. The Communist gerontocrats
were tired of being challenged, interrupted, and instructed by young
hothead students who apparently cared very little for the historical
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