China Students Stage Another Huge Rally

Legions of students marched through Beijing today and occupied Tian An Men Square to mark the 70th anniversary of China’s first student movement with another stunning display of their craving for democracy.

About 100,000 people, more than half of them students, defied police and peacefully gathered in the huge square for a festive rally to seek greater freedom, cleaner government, a free press and official recognition of the new independent student union that authorities say is illegal.

Students held much smaller demonstrations in Shanghai, Nanjing and Changsha, and about 300 journalists from the official Chinese media joined the student rally in Tian An Men. Throughout Beijing, crowds of workers applauded the students and shouted encouragement.

‘China Has Hope’

“Perhaps the march will not bring democracy today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but if we keep working on it, China has hope,” said one worker who claimed that he risked being fired by attending the demonstration.

After initially saying the student marches were designed to undermine China’s government, the communist leadership in recent days has said that the demonstrators are being manipulated by unspecified people and that most protesting students are patriotic.

Student activists appeared ready today to shift their tactics. After six successful marches in defiance of the government, they indicated that future activity may not center on demonstrations. They also announced that a nearly 2-week-old boycott that shut down most Beijing University classes would end Friday.