MMW 15 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Fang Lizhi, Hu Yaobang, Deng Xiaoping
12 Jun 2018
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Outline Lecture Twenty-Three—The End of the Cold War
I) 1989: A Watershed Year
signaled the end of the cold war
in terms of global relations, marked dramatic change
geopolitics takes on aspect
a) Eastern Europe
i) Dismantling of the Soviet Bloc
First time in half a year, there were elections
Reunification of east and west germany
Further splintering of soviet bloc
ii) Effectively ended the Cold War after 40 years
All of events preceded by Tiananmen of 1989 in asia
b) The Tiananmen Model—Blueprint for mass civil disobedience in the communist bloc
Came before berlin wall coming down and countries breaking away from soviet bloc
Blueprint for mass civil disobedience
i) With intellectual elite as vanguard for reform
(1) World-renowned physicist: Fang Lizhi
Chinese physicist
Inspired students to question corruption of Chinese communist party
Intellectual elites represented the vanguard
(2) Outdid Shelley’s “poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world”
Romantic poet
1989 proved him wrong
poets and intellectuals catalyzed change and were recognized for that
ii) Openness to negotiation and compromise
(1) Symbol of the “roundtable” not the “guillotine”
Guillotine is ultimate symbol of violent revolution and overthrow establishment
and regime
Roundtable overthrew willingness and come up with peaceful solution
Learned lesson from past revolutions
iii) Skillful appeal to Western media and public opinion
Learn how to do this
Reformers must have learned this lesson how Chinese student protestors took
advantage of CNN’s presence
How to display their demands
Take advantage of global news media
II) The Student Movement in Tiananmen, 1989
a) The “Auspicious” Timing of the Protest
i) Symbolism of anniversaries
ii) Death of the popular leader Hu Yaobang in April 1989
iii) Gorbachev’s state visit
b) The Prelude to Tiananmen
i) Deng Xiaoping and Post-Cultural Revolution Reforms in late 1970s
Responsible for turning china around
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