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142 Appendix B “Letter to All University Students” (Text of Class Boycott Proposal) Yaobang died with regret! All of the country’s people mourn! During Hu’s memorial, 100,000 Beijing University students, in compliance with the people’s will, presented a seven-point petition to the Central Committee of the CCP, the NPC, and the State Council, demanding a public reassessment of Yaobang’s great successes, the realization of our constitutional democratic rights, the hastening of China’s democratic process . . . and reform. But, the people have lost hope, as: From April 15, the petitioning march of every university has grown, but the government has ignored the students’ constructive demands, and moreover has used propaganda to put out false news and create lies about the student movement and sent police officers to restrain the students’ just actions. At 4:00 a.m. on the 20th, 1,000 cops at Xinhuamen, Changan, used belts, fists, and shoes to beat unarmed students. Many students were harmed. This became known as the “Xinhuamen Incident.” After the incident, the government inhumanly called the harmed students a “small group of conspirators .” This cannot but remind us of the Tiananmen Incident thirteen years ago: is history moving forward, or backward? The people have already awakened, the feudal era is already past! On April 21, 100,000 students held a large-scale protest march to oppose violence , protest bloody repression, struggle for democratic freedom, and oppose dictatorship. Along the road, the masses everywhere expressed support. At dawn on April 22, 100,000 students staged an organized sit-in at Tiananmen. After the memorial, the students waited to get a last look at Hu, but the car slipped out of the West Gate. The people lost hope, felt sad and tragic. Under this situation, three student representatives presented the “Seven-Point” petition, knelt for 45 minutes, yet still no one came out! The Appendix B • 143 people are so disheartened, they can’t believe it. A question arises in everyone : Do we have our own government? The Chinese race has reached its most critical time. We must use our intuitive knowledge, ideals, flesh, and blood to write a new history. Taking on the responsibility of our nation, the young students suggest that we: (1) Establish an all-China “United Students Alliance” preparatory committee, to ensure that this movement has organization, order, and reason, so it can continue; (2) Call on all Chinese university students to undertake an unlimited class boycott. We will not stop until we reach our goal! Beijing University Preparatory Committee April 24, 1989 (Source: Robin Munro Collection, Document II.34.) ...

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