HKB 020/6.
Rns
Miss Martin Mr Formans
Mr Wood Enterp.
WR
Private Secretary
CONFIDENTIAL
From: A NR Millington
Far Eastern Department
Date: 5 May 1989
cc: PS/Lord Glenarthur,
PS/PUS,
Mr Gillmore,
Mr McLaren,
Mr Paul, HKD,
Mr Wye, RD,
Mr Hemans, Soviet Dept.
CHINA: STUDENT DEMONSTRATIONS
A
1. As expected, and again in the face of unmistakable government disapproval, the students demonstrated once
more in large numbers on the streets of Peking to
commemorate the 70th anniversary of the May 4th Movement
(commonly thought of as marking the birth of democracy in
China). This followed the authorities' rejection on
3 May of the students' preconditions for talks (Peking
telno 753) which a government spokesman dismissed as
"unreasonable, emotionally impulsive and menacing to the
government in the form of an ultimatum." He did not
however entirely rule out the possibility of further
negotiations and there is some sign of the government now
being willing to talk to non-official student bodies.
The same day, in what was rather a bland and
uncontroversial speech marking the official commemoration
CONFIDENTIAL
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