Maoists Remove Wreaths

These activities at the Square worried and angered the Maoists. Orders were sent down to remove the wreaths. News of the removal spread quickly and the reaction of the masses was instantaneous. On April 5, masses surged into the Square to protest against the removal of the wreaths and new ones were brought in. By mid-day more than 100,000 had gathered in the Square, a figure acknowledged by the "People's Daily". They demanded the return of the wreaths and when the authorities refused, several scuffles broke out.

By night most of the crowd had dispersed, but more than 3000 of the most determined remained. It was then that more than 10,000 police, militia, and soldiers converged on the square and attacked the crowd, some with wooden clubs.

The protest movement of April 5 in Tien An Men was suppressed by physical violence. For the first time in 26 years of CCP rule, the regime has resorted to open attack on the people in order to suppress opposition. It is an indication of the seriousness of the power struggle and the paranoia of the Maoist leadership.

In order to intimidate and demoralise the dissidents, the "People's Daily" stated on April 10 that the revolt involved only a handful of reactionary elements directed by Teng Hsiao-ping. Teng was formally stripped of all posts inside and outside the party and the government. The police, the militia and street committees were mobilised to search and arrest the Tien An Men participants.

The second political crisis struck when Mao finally died on September 9, 1976. Within a month the once obscure party functionary Hua Kuo-feng had been catapulted to the chairmanship of the CCP and Peking was thick with rumours that four top-ranking members of the Politbureau had been arrested.

They were Chiang Ch'ing, the director of state cultural policy; Wang Hung-wen, party vice-chairman and second-ranking official; Chang Ch'un-ch'iao, vice-premier and chief army political commissar; and Yao Wen-yuan, director of communication media. As many as 50 others are said to have been arrested, including the Minister of Culture and top Peking university administrators.