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Article: Straws in the wind. (a Jilin province court overturned the 'counter-revolutionary' convictions of four Tiananmen Square protesters, fueling speculation that China is softening its stance)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- June 7, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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EVEN inside China, officials acknowledge privately that some day their leaders will have to reassess the damning verdict on the 1989 democracy movement if they are to press on with reform. The army's bloody assault on unarmed demonstrators in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square is still officially defended as a necessary slapping down of a "counter-revolutionary" putsch. So readers of China's political tea-leaves took note last week when a court in Jilin province threw out the convictions of four dissidents, sentenced for their role in a "counter-revolutionary clique" in 1989. Is a softening, even a reversal, of the Tiananmen verdict in prospect?
The death in ...