"Among many Chinese intellectuals, this new climate of openness sparked intense debates about the country's future, with many students and professors interested in the idea of a more liberal political system. " ~Mike Chinoy, former CNN correspondent at Tiananmen Square
Background
"In the 1980s, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, China began to move away from the excesses of the previous two decades. A policy of 'reform and opening up' was introduced. Foreign investment was welcomed. Many of the worst restrictions on personal freedom, travel, commercial and artistic activity were lifted. China slowly began to move from a planned to a more market-oriented economy. Among many Chinese intellectuals, this new climate of openness sparked intense debates about the country's future, with many students and professors interested in the idea of a more liberal political system. At the same time, because the market-style economic reforms were still tentative and partial, and the old state-run economy still existed, inflation became a serious problem, as did corruption."
"So by the end of the 1980s, you had a situation where a more freewheeling political and economic climate was producing a lot of discussion about how China could liberalize. Inside the Chinese Communist Party, there was also a debate about the pace and extent of any reforms, and whether the Party should begin to relax its iron-clad grip on power. Conservatives, like Premier Li Peng, worried that the reforms were going too fast and were undermining Party control. Reformers, like Communist Party General-Secretary Zhao Ziyang, wanted to accelerate the pace of change. As the senior leader, Deng Xiaoping also wanted to see more economic reform, but he disapproved of the calls for political reform as well." ~Mike Chinoy, former CNN correspondent at Tiananmen Square