Hard-Liners Tighten Grip in Beijing

Hard-liners moved to tighten their control of China today after moderate Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang was stripped of his power and placed under house arrest.

Students leading the demonstrations that have forced the power struggle continued to occupy Beijing’s Tian An Men Square one week after martial law was declared in Beijing. But thousands could be seen leaving, and crowds dwindled to about 15,000.

Despite the drop-off and the apparent ouster of Zhao, who had been more conciliatory toward the protesters, students vowed to continue to press for social reforms and the resignation of hard-line Premier Li Peng.

The protesters previously have demonstrated the ability to rally huge numbers of citizens on short notice.

Communist Party members nationwide were studying two sets of documents as the Central Committee prepared to meet. One document blamed Zhao for the 6-week-old student movement and the other called for a “resolute suppression of the disturbances,” sources said.

Zhao had expressed sympathy for the student movement, was the first to call it “patriotic” and apparently worked behind the scenes to oppose the May 20 declaration of martial law in Beijing.

But sources said conservatives accused Zhao of splitting the party, instigating disturbances, revealing party secrets, corruption and taking credit for achievements of senior leader Deng Xiaoping during the past decade.

On state-run news Wednesday night, Li was quoted as saying that Deng “is the main reformer in China, not anyone else.”

Although Deng ushered in market-oriented economic reforms, student protesters have been pressing for political freedoms, such as a free press, and an end to official profiteering.