Tiananmen Square June 1989 Essay Example

Tiananmen Square June 1989 Essay Example Tiananmen Square June 1989 Paper Tiananmen Square June 1989 Paper On the 22nd of April 1989, Chinese students collected together at Tiananmen Square to pay respects to Hu Yaobang, the students saw this as an opportunity to protest for democratic reform. Little did these students know this protest would end with tragic results. Deng blamed Hu Yaobang, a member of the Deng Xiaoping communist party, when students protested for political reform. Due to this he lost his position in the government but still remained in the politburo. His death on 15th April sparked the Tiananmen movement. Sources A, F and G are from books. Source A, the background to the Tiananmen Square incident from China in the 20th Century written in 1990 by Harriet Ward, a British Historian, who, unlike some Chinese sources controlled by government, has freedom of speech. The book gives a general overview of one hundred years in China, which suggests that the information gathered, could be considered vague and facts possibly have been overlooked, which of course would reduce the sources reliability. However, the source was written one year after the incident, which suggests that the information is probably fairly reliable. We can also assume, as the source was written relatively soon after the events, that some of her knowledge was gained from newspapers and television reports at the time, and therefore can be considered fairly trustworthy. As the historian was not present at Tiananmen Square we also know that this is not first hand reporting. However, I conclude that this book must be a fairly reliable source as it specialises in China in the 20th Century, which suggests that the writer completed detailed research into the subject. This source is quite useful in explaining the causes and events of Tiananmen Square. Source F, the events of the 4th June 1989 from the book China, A New Revolution? Written in 1990 by John Bradley, an American historian. This source gives a brief explanation of the events on June 4th. Like source A this information was written only one year after the incidents at Tiananmen Square which suggest the information is dependable for the same reasons as given for Source A. It is also written by a non-Chinese source with freedom of speech, which, as stated above, also increases the reliability of the source. This historian was also not present at the time the incident took place at Tiananmen Square so we can assume some information may be incorrect. This book deals with the revolution of China, and Tiananmen Square was a huge milestone in this regard, however these events no doubt will have slowed down the progress of the Chinese democracy movement. This source is quite useful in explaining the causes and events of Tiananmen Square. Source G, an extract from the book The Truth about the Beijing Turmoil was written in 1989 published in the Peoples Republic of China. This source reports that no one at Tiananmen Square was killed and gives the background to why the soldiers were sent. This source was written the year the incident happened which suggests that the information could be considered reliable, however, the source was written and published in the Peoples Republic of China, which suggests an element of government control and therefore reduces the reliability of the source. This source can be seen as biased as it only gives the governments point of view. In conclusion this source is not very useful. Source B is a table, Source B: Rising living standards in China, 1981-84 from official records at that time. This source shows us the increase of goods per hundred households in urban and rural areas. This source is reliable as the information is from records of that time, but is not particularly useful in explaining the causes and events of Tiananmen Square as it was written years five years before, although it does indicate an increase in the living standards of the Chinese, particularly those in rural households, which could be seen as evidence of a growing democracy. Sources E and D are both sources from newspapers. Source E: The events of 4th June 1989 from a report in the Sunday times in 1989, a British newspaper. The reporter has freedom of speech and cannot be controlled by the government unlike some Chinese sources. This is a primary source and therefore reliable due to the fact that it is an eyewitness report by the reporter, Louise Branson, who was in Beijing at the time. The information is stark and certainly anti-Chinese government, and only gives one side of the story, which could be considered as reducing the reports reliability. This is a very useful source in showing the events that took place at Tiananmen Square. Source D: The students believe they have won from Tiananmen, The rape of Peking 1989, a book published by the British newspaper, The Independent. This source is very useful in explaining the causes and events of Tiananmen Square. It is reliable due to the fact that it was written the same year as the incident; this suggests that the information is correct and up to date. The Independent, has a reputation for well researched, fair, and unbiased reporting. Sources C and H are both photographs. Source H shows one man who stopped the tanks. It was a photograph taken in Tiananmen Square on the 5th June 1989. This photograph shows a brave protestor supporting the Chinese protestors by standing in the way of tanks. This source is a primary source as it is an un-edited picture of what happened on that day and cannot be misinterpreted as the photograph shows exactly what is happening. Although this source is reliable it is not clear what happened before and after this picture was taken. This source is useful in showing part of what happened at Tiananmen Square. The video footage from which the still is taken would be a more valuable source. Source C: Student leaders on the way to deliver the petition, is a photographic source showing students on bikes on the way to deliver a petition. This source is not reliable as it there is no reference given of where it is from or who took it. This photograph could be misinterpreted, as it is not clear what it represents as it does not show anything apart from people riding on bikes, also the image is not very clear and is of bad quality. This source cannot be considered reliable and does not show the causes and events of Tiananmen Square. Source I: a cartoon supporting the Chinese protestors. This cartoon is by Garland in the Independent, drawn on the 16 June 1989 only a couple weeks after the incident, which increases the sources reliability. It is a copy of a famous picture (Source H) but where the position is reversed, the leader is trying to stop the truth from being expressed. This source is reliable as it is a cartoon and can be used to explain the causes and events of Tiananmen Square, as it shows an outsiders interpretation of the tragic events. The above sources are wide ranging and all provide information in varying ways. Some sources are more useful than others. There are two overriding points of view in the sources given which contradict each other, this is because they have different original sources and their agendas are different. All the sources are interesting but only some can be considered reliable.