Peking Students Support Demands for Democracy

Student demands for democracy spread for the first time to Peking today with more than 4,000 students marching or rallying in support of fellow students in Shanghai and other cities.

A crowd went from campus to campus in northwest Peking this evening, at one point crossing a line of about 100 police.

In Shanghai, about 2,000 students demonstrated for a fifth day today, down from the tens of thousands drawn to the streets over the weekend.

In Nanking, about 150 miles west of Shanghai, about 2,000 students were reported to have marched.

At Peking University, posters ridiculed a commentary in the nation’s leading newspaper calling on people to “cherish stability” and asked “Why are we so afraid to do what Shanghai students are doing?”

4,000 Gather at Qinghua

Sources at Qinghua University in the capital said about 4,000 students gathered in the evening and sang the Internationale, a socialist hymn, and the national anthem. Speakers complained the Communist Youth League and student union did not represent student interests.

About 1,000 then marched to nearby Peking University, a traditional hotbed of student unrest, and called on students to join them. Some marchers went on to People’s University.

About 1,000 students from the three campuses marched down a street chanting “Long live democracy!” and “We demand freedom!” Some students claimed they were inspired by the “People’s Power” movement which ousted President Ferdinand E. Marcos in the Philippines and the show of strength by opposition parties in recent Taiwanese elections.

Crowd Disbanded

Police urged the students to go home to sleep, and the crowd eventually disbanded without incident.

In Shanghai, about 2,000 students marched from Tongji University toward City Hall after officials refused to meet with student leaders. Police turned the marchers back.

The protesters carried a huge picture of the Statue of Liberty and banners saying, “Protect Human Rights,” “Down with Bureaucratism” and “Xiaoping, Where Are You?” a reference to China’s top leader, Deng Xiaoping.

Deng’s reform moves have included guarantees of freedom of expression as long as the supremacy of the Communist Party is unquestioned.

Authorities had warned after tens of thousands of Shanghai students marched over the weekend that further public disruptions would not be tolerated (Story, Page 11).