Gifts and donations from outside Mainland China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests

During the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 the student protesters received donations from abroad. From places as far as the United States and Europe to places as close as Hong Kong, many people showed their support for the students.[1] Many of these people showed their support not just vocally or through political channels, but also through donations. These donations came through channels such as pro-democracy fundraisers and other large events, which helped gather support for the movement. Donations included both money and other much needed supplies, such as tents and other basic necessities including food, computers, high-speed printers, and advanced communication equipment.[2][3] According to Chai Ling, one of the top student leaders, in an interview that took place on May 28, 1989, these donations helped to raise the fluctuating spirits and morale of the students, giving an illusion of strength to the protesters and helping to improve the deteriorating conditions of the square.[4]

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, then still a British territory, support for the movement was massive, with thousands of citizens rallying to support the pro-democracy protests. Groups such as the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, and the Hong Kong Federation of Students played pivotal roles in fueling the movement along with pro-democracy activists.[5]

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements (HKASPDM) was created on the 21 of May 1989, a day when “one million Hong Kong citizens participated in a parade which lasted for eight hours in support for the mainland students”.[6] Led by Szeto Wah, a prominent pro-democracy activist, HKASPDM raised support for the Beijing protesters through the use of demonstrations and fundraisers.[7] The most well known of these fundraisers was the Concert for Democracy, which took place on 27 May and was attended by 300,000 supporters. The concert also included the attendance of several high profile personalities including Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Beyond, Teresa Teng, and Jacky Cheung.[8] The Concert raised 14 million Hong Kong dollars (1.5 million American dollars), in donations for the Tiananmen protesters.[9][10] HKASPDM would also play an even larger role in the days following the June fourth crackdown with Operation Yellowbird, which was a plan created by Hong Kong film maker John Shum to help protesters escape the mainland.[11] In order to fund the operation, which cost from 50,000-100,000 Hong Kong dollars per rescue, HKASPDM used more fundraising concerts, including one that lasted 12 hours, to collect donations.[12]

Other sources of monetary donations came from student groups such as the Hong Kong Federation of Students, a large student organization made up of several Hong Kong universities, who raised around ten million Hong Kong dollars.[13] Other smaller student groups like the Hong Kong College Student Union also met in the early days of May and gathered funds and organized mass rallies and demonstrations in support of the Beijing students.[14]

The Communist Party knew of these donations and Chinese State Security mentioned in a report submitted on June 1 that certain people in Hong Kong had raised 21 million Hong Kong dollars in support for the protesters. They later changed the number to 30 million and explained that these pro-democracy supporters were bringing money to the mainland in separate, smaller installments, with one support group carrying one million Hong Kong dollars being sent ahead of time.[15]

Rest of the world

Apart from the support from Hong Kong, in other parts of the world support for the Tiananmen protesters also took place. Citizens in countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and across Europe, like their Hong Kong counterparts also showed support for the Beijing students by organizing large rallies and writing open letters in protest to the actions of the Chinese Communist government.[16] Like in Hong Kong, these countries also contributed large donations of money in support of the protesters.

In Taiwan there was support for the protests, with people also donating funds. For example, Chiang Wei-kuo, the General Secretary of Taiwan’s National Security Council, launched a movement “ to send love to Tiananmen” by donating 100,000 New Taiwan dollars (about US$3300) to the Tiananmen movement.[17] Some members of the Kuomintang also got involved; Li Chang-Yi (黎昌意), a Central Committee member, set up a foundation called Support the Mainland Democracy Movement, which campaigned to raise 100 million New Taiwan dollars.[18] In May 1989, Chinese State Security Ministry issued a report, which brought to attention the concern that the donations were not just out of good will, but that they were part of a foreign plot at work within the Tiananmen Protests underlining the controversy of some of these donations.[19] The Communist Party believed that foreign agents were infiltrating the student movement and attempting to carry out subversion by promoting democracy in an attempt to pull China to liberalization, with donations being used to further this goal.[20] The report later stated that in Taiwan, Ma Shu-li's Grand Alliance for China's Reunification under the Three Principles of the People had opened a bank account with the Bank of Taiwan. The purpose of this account was so that Taiwanese citizens and groups could contribute money to support the democratic student movement on the mainland.[21] Acts of foreign support such as these, and the involvement of foreign government personnel helped to fuel the Communist Party’s fears that the student protests were being influenced by outside forces, and would be one of the best justifications for carrying out the crackdown.[22]

In the United States and Canada many citizens donated money to the protesters generously and spontaneously.[23] The overseas Chinese community rallied in support for the Tiananmen protests generating one of the largest cases of support ever seen from the overseas Chinese community.[24] By June 1, a report sent to the Politburo mentioned that people from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong had donated more than US$1 million and tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars to the protesters.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Zhang Liang, “An Emergency Report of the Beijing Party Committee” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 334.
  2. ↑ Zhang Liang, “An Emergency Report of the Beijing Party Committee” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 334.
  3. ↑ Hinton Carma, Gordon Richard, Gate of Heavenly Peace, Directed by Hinton Carma, Gordon Richard. (1995; Boston: Long Bow Group, 1995), film
  4. ↑ Cheng Eddie, Standoff in Tiananmen (Sensys Corp, 2009) pg 231-232
  5. ↑ “Who we are,” Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, accessed March 20, 2014, http://www.alliance.org.hk/english/The_Alliance/who_we_are.html
  6. ↑ Lo Sonny Shiu-Hing, “The Role of Political Interest Groups in Democratization of China and Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China”, The Journal of Contemporary China 22:84 (2013) pg 929
  7. ↑ Bradsher Keith, “Szeto Wah, Political Activist in Hong Kong, Dies at 79” New York Times, January 2, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/world/asia/03szeto.html?_r=0
  8. ↑ “Past Events,” Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, accessed March 20, 2014, http://www.alliance.org.hk/english/The_Alliance/past_events.html
  9. ↑ Hinton Carma, Gordon Richard, Gate of Heavenly Peace, Directed by Hinton Carma, Gordon Richard. (1995; Boston: Long Bow Group, 1995), film
  10. ↑ “Troops Halted by the Crowds,” Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, accessed March 20, 2014, http://www.alliance.org.hk/english/Tiananmen_files/890521.html
  11. ↑ Lo Sonny Shiu-Hing, “The Role of Political Interest Groups in Democratization of China and Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China”, The Journal of Contemporary China 22:84 (2013) pg 929-30
  12. ↑ Lo Sonny Shiu-Hing, “The Role of Political Interest Groups in Democratization of China and Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China”, The Journal of Contemporary China 22:84 (2013). p. 929-30.
  13. ↑ Hinton Carma, Gordon Richard, Gate of Heavenly Peace, Directed by Hinton Carma, Gordon Richard. (1995; Boston: Long Bow Group, 1995), film
  14. ↑ “Autonomous Students’ Federation Held Press Conference” Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, accessed March 20, 2014, http://www.alliance.org.hk/english/Tiananmen_files/890501.html
  15. ↑ Zhang Liang, “Western Infiltration, Intervention and Subversion” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 347.
  16. ↑ Zhang Liang, “Cries from Hong Kong” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 266.
  17. ↑ Zhang Liang, “Western Infiltration, Intervention and Subversion” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 347.
  18. ↑ Zhang Liang, “Western Infiltration, Intervention and Subversion” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 347.
  19. ↑ Zhang Liang, “Western Infiltration, Intervention, and Subversion” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 338.
  20. ↑ Zhang Liang, “Western Infiltration, Intervention, and Subversion” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 338.
  21. ↑ Zhang Liang, “Taiwan’s Role” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). P. 296.
  22. ↑ Zhang Liang, “Western Infiltration, Intervention, and Subversion” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 338.
  23. ↑ Mu Yi, Thompson Mark V, Crisis at Tiananmen (San Francisco: China Books & Periodicals, Inc, 1989). p. 74.
  24. ↑ Mu Yi, Thompson Mark V, Crisis at Tiananmen (San Francisco: China Books & Periodicals, Inc, 1989). p. 74.
  25. ↑ Zhang Liang, “An Emergency Report of the Beijing Party Committee” in The Tiananmen Papers (New York: Public Affairs, 2001). p. 335.
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