Twenty-five years have passed since the Chinese leadership suppressed by force the student-led democratization movement centered at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. With Chinese media keeping silent over the anniversary, it looks as if the Chinese Communist Party and government were trying to erase the memory of that movement, which called for elimination of corruption, government accountability, freedom of speech and the press and expansion of workers' rights, among other things.
While China has since achieved robust economic growth to become the world's No. 2 economy today, there are no signs that the CCP leadership are making serious efforts for democratization. However, political regimentation as pursued by President Xi Jinping will not bring about true stability to the country. It is high time that the Chinese leadership carried out political reforms to establish a democratic system — a prerequisite for a stable society.
A vigil for the April 1989 death of Hu Yaobang, a reformist former general secretary of the CCP, led to the start of the democratization movement. Although it gained momentum, receiving support from citizens and some media, hardline party leaders eventually cracked down on the demonstrators at and near Tiananmen Square by sending in troops with tanks and assault rifles to put the protests down on the early morning of June 4, 1989. The Chinese authorities say that 319 citizens and students were killed, but other estimates put the number of victims much higher.