Document #1258174
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Information on the 5 June 1989
demonstrations in front of Guangzhou city hall and whether the city
hall is part of the government compound at Haizhu square could not
be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB in
Ottawa. However, attached are two maps of Guangzhou City which we
hope may be of interest.
According to reports on the 5 June 1989
demonstrations in Guangzhou City currently available to the DIRB,
at 6 a.m. on 5 June 1989 the crowds began to converge at the gates
of the provincial government offices and Haizhu Square (Ming
Pao 7 June 1989; South China Morning Post 5 June 1989).
By 7 a.m., some students had blocked passing vehicles on Haizhu
Bridge (BBC Summary 7 June 1989). Many roads, including Haiyan
Bridge were blocked by thousands of people (ibid.; Ming Pao
7 June 1989; South China Morning Post 5 June 1989). Other
reports from late May and early June do not mention whether there
were demonstrations in front of Guangzhou city hall. For further
details on June 1989 demonstration in Guangzhou, please refer to
the attachments and to Responses to Information Requests CHN7564 of
9 January 1991 and CHN3165 of 7 December 1989.
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find attached the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this information
request.
BBC Summary of the World Broadcasts. 7
June 1989. "Canton Bridges Blockaded by Students." (NEXIS)
Ming Pao [Hong Kong]. 7 June
1989. "Guangzhou 'Calm'; No Military Presence." (NEXIS)
South China Morning Post [Hong
Kong]. 5 June 1989. "Guangzhou Army on 'Grade 2 Alert'."
(NEXIS)
BBC Summary of the World Broadcasts. 10
June 1989. "The Situation in Canton." (NEXIS)
. 7 June 1989. "Canton Bridges Blockaded
by Students." (NEXIS)
. 3 June 1989. "PRC: Students Leave
Guangdong Government Compound." (NEXIS)
. 26 May 1989. "China: Canton-Hong Kong
and Macao Students Join 23rd May Demonstration." (NEXIS)
. 26 May 1989. "China: Fewer Canton
Students Demonstrated on 19th May." (NEXIS)
. 23 May 1989. "PRC: Demonstrations in
Canton and Shanghai." (NEXIS)
The Boston Globe. 18 June 1989.
City Edition. Jonathan Kaufman. "Turmoil in China; South So Far
Eludes China's Crackdown." (NEXIS)
Buckley, Michael et al. March 1994.
China-A Travel Survival Kit. Hawthorn, Australia: Lonely
Planet Publications, pp. 222-25.
Guangdong Provincial Service [Guangzhou,
in Mandarin]. 7 June 1989. "Traffic Order Improves." (NEXIS)
. 19 May 1989. "Guangdong Demonstrations
Continue." (FBIS-CHI-89-096 19 May 1989, p. 28)
Japan Economic Newswire. 20 May 1989.
"Asian News-China; Chinese Students Demonstrate in Southern Chinese
City." (NEXIS)
Los Angeles Times. 11 June 1989.
Home Edition. Jim Mann. "China in Turmoil; In Prosperous South,
Calm Amid the Storm." (NEXIS)
. 23 May 1989. Home Edition. "Protests
Spark Unrest in Shanghai, Canton, Other Chinese Cities."
(NEXIS)
Ming Pao [Hong Kong, in Chinese].
7 June 1989. "Guangzhou 'Calm'; No Military Presence." (NEXIS)
The New York Times. 25 May 1989.
Barbara Basler. "Upheaval in China; Canton's Propsperous Students
March." (NEXIS)
South China Morning Post [Hong
Kong]. 5 June 1989. "Guangzhou Army on 'Grade 2 Alert'."
(NEXIS)
Ta Kung Pao [Hong Kong, in
Chinese]. 7 June 1989. "Troop Movement Said 'Rumors'." (NEXIS)
Vogel, E.F. 1989. One Step Ahead in
China: Guangdong Under Reform. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press, p. 199.
Zhongguo Xinwen She [Beijing, in
Chinese]. 9 October 1989. "Guangdong Court Sentences June Turmoil
Criminals." (FBIS-CHI-89-195 11 Oct. 1989, p. 57)
Oral sources.