The Beijing Spring () refers to a brief period of political

liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used ...

during the "

Boluan Fanzheng ''Boluan Fanzheng'' () refers to a period of significant sociopolitical reforms starting with the accession of Deng Xiaoping to the paramount leader of China, paramount leadership in China, replacing Hua Guofeng, who had been appointed as Mao Z ...

" period in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(PRC). It began as the

Democracy Wall From November 1978 to December 1979, thousands of people put up " big character posters" on a long brick wall of Xidan Street, Xicheng District of Beijing, to protest about the political and social issues of China; the wall became known as the ...

movement in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, which occurred in 1978 and 1979, right after the end of the

Chinese Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. The name is derived from "

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

", an analogous event which occurred in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1968.

History

During the Beijing Spring, the general public was allowed greater freedom to criticize the government than the Chinese people had previously been allowed under the

government of the People's Republic of China The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

. Most of this criticism was directed towards the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

and the government's behavior during that time. It was made public with the

Democracy Wall Movement Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, a

Chinese democracy movement Democracy movements in the People's Republic of China are a series of organized political movements, inside and outside of the country, addressing a variety of grievances, including objections to socialist bureaucratism and objections to the ...

1990s

The phrase "Beijing Spring" was also used during a more recent period of political thaw in the PRC from September 1997 to mid November 1998. During this 'new Beijing Spring' the Chinese authorities relaxed some control over political expression and organisation. The relatively trouble-free

handover of Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...

to China from the United Kingdom and the death of

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

in early 1997 were precursors to this brief period of liberalisation. It was during this second "Beijing Spring" that the

China Democracy Party The China Democracy Party (CDP; ), also known as the Democracy Party of China (DPC), is a political party that started in the People's Republic of China, and was banned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The history of the DPC and its foundatio ...

was founded and legally registered by some local authorities. The Democracy Wall Movement dissident

Wei Jingsheng Wei Jingsheng (; born 20 May 1950) is a Chinese human rights activist and dissident. He is best known for his involvement in the Chinese democracy movement. He is most prominent for having authored the essay " The Fifth Modernization", which ...

was released and exiled, China signed the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom ...

, and China was visited by US President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and UN Human Rights Commissioner

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

at this time. By the end of 1998 the government had again cracked down on leading dissidents and those involved in the fledgling opposition

Chinese Democracy Party The China Democracy Party (CDP; ), also known as the Democracy Party of China (DPC), is a political party that started in the People's Republic of China, and was banned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The history of the DPC and its foundatio ...

References

External links

"Beijing Spring" – Memories of the Chinese Democracy Movement 1978–1981
{{Authority control Chinese democracy movements 1970s in Beijing 1990s in China Cold War history of China 1977 in China 1978 in China 1997 in China 1998 in China Cultural Revolution 1979 in China

History

1990s

See also

References

External links