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May 28, 1989

China Division, Asian Affairs Bureau [Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan], 'Summary of Main Points on Student Demonstrations in the Vicinity of Tiananmen Square on the Morning, Afternoon of the 28th'

This document was made possible with support from The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Operation Room Information for Transmission

Subject: Chinese Political Situation

Date and time of transmission: May 28 (Sunday), 22:40

Number of Pages for Transmission: 1 page

Transmitting Section: China Division, Asian Affairs Bureau

Message: Summary of Main Points on Student Demonstrations in the Vicinity of Tiananmen Square on the Morning, Afternoon of the 28th

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General Situation of the Student Demonstrations in the Vicinity of Tiananmen Square (Morning, Afternoon of the 28th)

On the 28th, our Embassy’s Minami observed the student demonstrations that took place centered in front of Tiananmen Square. A summary of the main points is as follows:

1. Around 10:30 in the morning, a group of several tens of thousands of people marched from west to east along Chang’an Avenue.  At its peak time (11:00 – 12:00), the march of demonstrators seems to have reached 70,000 to 80,000 persons in front of Tiananmen Square.

2. There were not many placards. What stood out were the red flags with school names written on them. The demonstrators were mainly students. There were extremely few Beijing residents or workers participating. Among the students, too, many had come to the capital from provincial universities (example: Inner Mongolia University). Few students were from Beijing.

3. The slogans chanted in unison, in addition to “Li Peng, step down,” which they were chanting as before, “long live democracy” and “long live freedom” were being used.

4. By one o’clock in the afternoon, the peak of the demonstration had passed. From time to time, groups of as many as one or two thousand marched.

5. At Tiananmen Square, the sit-in was still taking place and there was no particular change in the situation.

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A report from a member of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, who observed the student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square throughout the day of May 28.


Document Information

Source

2020-0545, Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs, published online by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Translated by Stephen Mercado.

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2024-06-26

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The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars