Thousands Join Beijing Pro-Democracy Protest

Tens of thousands of students demonstrated in central Beijing’s Tian An Men Square early today in a dramatic public rejection by China’s elite youths of Communist controls

At least 20,000 to 30,000 students--some estimates ran as high as 80,000--marched to the square in a miles-long procession late Friday evening from university campuses in northwestern Beijing.

The marching column of students, chanting, “Long live democracy,” were greeted upon their post-midnight arrival by another crowd of about 30,000 cheering supporters already at the square or lining the street approaching it.

Bystanders Sympathetic

Earlier Friday, there had been even more people in the area, perhaps as many as 100,000. But observers said as much as half of that crowd was composed of by-standers and the curious, although they seemed sympathetic to those whose protests they were watching.

Marchers sang China’s national anthem and the revolutionary socialist hymn, The Internationale, both of which call for revolutionary action in strong language.

The students also carried banners calling for freedom of the press and demanding that civil liberties guaranteed in China’s constitution be granted in practice. Banners and chants criticized the police for allegedly using force in breaking up a demonstration early Thursday morning.

Organizers Keep Order

It took more than two hours after the arrival of the head of the procession for the entire column to file into the square, where student organizers kept order among the total crowd of about 50,000 to 60,000 and directed a sit-down demonstration.

Students marched in groups according to their universities, and it appeared that at least two dozen schools, including a few from other cities, were represented.

Foreigners who drove through streets near the square saw dozens of army and police trucks bring at least 2,000 troops or police to the area. A thin line of soldiers stood guard before the Great Hall of the People on the west side of the square, but the security forces took no immediate action against the students.

Throughout the hours before dawn, however, many expected the police to try to clear the square.

This was partly because during the pre-dawn hours Wednesday and Thursday, police forcibly cleared thousands of protesters from a major thoroughfare in central Beijing near Zhongnanhai, a compound that houses the headquarters of the Communist Party and government. At least a few students were roughed up by police in the second of these incidents, and many banners complained about this.

Also, the official Chinese media announced Friday that access to the square will be restricted from 8 a.m. this morning to ensure order during a 10 a.m. memorial service at the Great Hall of the People for the late Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang. Many top leaders were to attend the memorial, and the image of tens of thousands of students gathered in the square to sing revolutionary songs and chant for democracy is a severe embarrassment to China’s rulers.

Hu, who died of a heart attack April 15 at the age of 73, was widely viewed as the most liberal of China’s leaders. As such, he enjoyed great popularity among intellectuals. But he was ousted from the party leadership two years ago, partly for being too lenient during earlier demonstrations for greater liberalization.

The demonstrations of the past week have nominally been in his honor. Some banners and posters at the square this morning paid homage to Hu, but it was clear that for many students his death was simply a convenient excuse to justify pro-democracy protests.

As the night progressed, many in the crowd drifted away, leaving perhaps 10,000 or 15,000 as dawn broke. About that time, a rumor began to spread through the crowd that an agreement had been reached between student representatives and the government. It was said that so long as the protesters remained orderly, the police would not take action to drive them from the square.

During the night, students sat or stood in groups, discussing political issues or singing songs. A series of speakers climbed onto the Monument to the People’s Heroes, bedecked with wreaths and a photograph of Hu. Among them was Ren Wanding, an activist in the 1978 “Democracy Wall” movement who served prison time as punishment.

“People are praying for the awakening of a legal system,” Ren said. “This is a historical necessity. Democracy Wall lives again!”

In 1978 and early 1979, authorities allowed a brick wall several blocks west of Tien An Men to be plastered with political writings and wallposters. This unaccustomed freedom of expression, not long after the repressive era of the Cultural Revolution, drew daily crowds of readers and became known as the Democracy Wall. In a later crackdown by authorities, the writings were banned, some writers such as Ren were tried and jailed, and the wall itself was torn down.

Some of the current dissidents Friday voiced rare public criticism of China’s paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, who has masterminded a decade of generally successful economic reforms but who has refused to allow major political liberalization.

“Our leader is old,” one speaker told the crowd. “Maybe he is crazy. Many people hope he will die.”

One of the hundreds of student organizers in the square said in a brief interview that one purpose of the demonstration is to push Deng from power.

Deng has served his country well in the economic reforms, but China has now progressed enough that he should step down to make way for younger people who understand the country’s new situation better, this man said. Chinese students, he added, would prefer an American-style system where leaders serve fixed terms of office and then give up power.

Shortly before dawn, a spokesman with a hand-held battery-powered loudspeaker read out a new list of demands drawn up by a caucus of student leaders: a proper re-evaluation of Hu Yaobang, acknowledging his contributions; press freedom; more funds for education and intellectuals’ pay; a repudiation of anti-liberal political campaigns of the 1980s; truthful reporting in the Chinese press of Thursday morning’s demonstration at Zhongnanhai and the police action against it, and safety for students who have led the past week of demonstrations.

“We thought communism was a selfless system,” said one student in the crowd. “But we’ve achieved no such thing. We have a new feudal dynasty. We are very pessimistic. It looks like communism was a mistake.”

Another student encouraged the crowd over a hand-held loudspeaker: “The final victory surely belongs to us! The final victory surely belongs to the people!”