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Article: Chinese students back off
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- April 23, 1989
CopyrightCopyright (null) Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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BEIJING Chinese university students admitted defeat Saturday in
gaining immediate democratic reforms during an extraordinary protest
here, but they laid claim to a larger victory.
In a society where historical symbols carry enormous weight, the
students temporarily wrested from the Communist Party establishment
some of its most sacred images and slogans - not least the party's
claim to represent the Chinese masses.
Some 150,000 demonstrators filed away from Beijing's Tiananmen
Square Saturday afternoon after their leaders failed to force a
face-to-face dialogue with Premier Li Peng.
The students, who faced off against more than 2,000 soldiers and
police in a tense but mostly peaceful ...