China: Information on demonstrations or state of unrest in Shanghai 1-3 June 1989
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 December 1991 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CHN9941 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, China: Information on demonstrations or state of unrest in Shanghai 1-3 June 1989, 1 December 1991, CHN9941, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab6384.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
IRBDC replies to information requests CHN3374 (9 Jan. 1990), CHN5117 (23 Apr. 1990), CHN5062 (26 Apr. 1990), and CHN7469 (19 Dec. 1990) all deal specifically with demonstrations in or around the Shanghai area in the spring of 1989.
Further to the above, a number of sources indicate that there was generally a high level of social unrest in Shanghai on 1-3 June 1989 specifically. A report from a Shanghai radio station (FBIS-CHI-89-106, 101-102) states that on 3 June 1989 students from several Shanghai universities disrupted traffic by setting up roadblocks at numerous intersections, disabling buses by deflating their tires and addressing onlookers from traffic police platforms.
On 27 May 1989 the Shanghai Municipal People's Government had issued a ban on "boarding a train by force without a ticket, storming a railway station, intercepting a train, or sleeping on railway tracks," (FBIS-CHI-89-106 5 June 1989, 101) in an attempt to combat protestors' disruptions of the city's rail service. The ban was apparently unheeded, and on 6 June 1989 a train failed to stop for demonstrators lying on the tracks, killing six and injuring six. Richard Bernstein of The New York Times quoted an angry Shanghai resident at the time as saying, "All of the tracks had been blockaded for several days.... So they knew there were people on the tracks, and yet they ordered the train not to stop" (8 June 1989).
University and college classes apparently continued to be disrupted in the early days of June 1989. On 1 June 1989 the Shanghai Municipal Communist Youth League issued a statement appealing for students to ignore a boycott and return to classes (FBIS-CHI-89-105 2 June 1989, 46). On 31 May 1989 the presidents of 51 universities and colleges in Shanghai co-signed an open letter to students and parents stating that though order had gradually been restored in Shanghai classes, certain noteworthy situations have again appeared in some schools of higher education over the past couple of days. Certain people, flaunting the banner of the so-called Federation of Students of Schools of Higher Education of Shanghai and the Association for School Autonomy, and in the name of their colleges and teachers, have issued a so-called declaration, held an oath-taking ceremony, and formed the so-called Associations of Fellow Townsmen. They have also incited and coerced students to stage a so-called all-out class boycott [kong xiao ba ke]. In an attempt to rekindle the upheaval, some people, whose identity is unknown, have also taken the advantage [sic] of the opportunity to vilify and attack the party and the government, and incite students to boycott classes and examinations, force entry onto Beijing-bound trains to support the students in Beijing, and disrupt the gradually normal return to teaching (FBIS-CHI-89-104 1 June 1989, 55-56). The presidents go on to urge parents "to act as quickly as possible to persuade your children to return to their studies" (Ibid., 56). Xinhua, the Chinese government press agency, reported on 31 May 1989 that classes had resumed at "more than half" of Shanghai's 50 universities and colleges (FBIS-CHI-89-106 5 June 1989, 101), indicating, perhaps inadvertently, that significant numbers of students had still not returned.
Further information on the subject is currently unavailable to the IRBDC.
Bibliography
FBIS-CHI-89-106. 5 June 1989. "Shanghai Bans Storming Trains" in Xinhua [Beijing, in Chinese], 27 May 1989.
. "Shanghai Roadblocks Cause Jams," on Shanghai City Service [Shanghai, in Mandarin], 4 June 1989.
. "Shanghai Universities Resume Classes" in Xinhua [Beijing, in English], 31 May 1989.
FBIS-CHI-89-105. 2 June 1989. "Shanghai CYL Urges Students to Attend Classes" on Shanghai City Service [Shanghai, in Mandarin], 1 June 1989.
FBIS-CHI-89-104. 1 June 1989. "Letter From Shanghai University Heads Released" on Shanghai City Service [Shanghai, in Mandarin], 31 May 1989.
The New York Times. 8 June 1989. Bernstein, Richard. "Turmoil in China; Students in Shanghai Wage War of Buses With Officials." (NEXIS)