Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang was alive from 1915-1989. He joined the communist party at age 14. Before he died on April 15, 1989, he was secretary of the People's Republic of China. Hu Yaobang was an advocate of young people in China and spent his life trying to get more freedom rights for the people of China. His funeral in 1989 was the starting point of an outbreak of protests in the square.
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong was responsible for creating the communist government in China, still known today as the People's Republic of China. He enforced this way of government on the people of China on October 1, 1949. These communist ideals were the basis for the 1989 protests due to strict rules and regulations imposed on the citizens. Mao Zedong passed away in 1976.
Li Peng
Li Peng served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1988- 1998. As the protests in Tiananmen Square grew and began to threaten the strength of the communist government, he convinced Deng Xiaoping to declare Martial Law on June 3, 1989. This resulted in the Chinese government sending military forces into Tiananmen Square which ultimately cost the lives of many Chinese citizens.
Deng Xiaoping
Born in 1904, Deng Xiaoping was an influential part of China's government. In 1929, he led a failed uprising against the anti-communist Nationalist government in Southern China. After the victory of Mao's Communist forces, Deng moved up through the ranks to become Vice President of the People's Republic of China in 1952. By 1956, he became Secretariat of China's Communist Party. He was denounced during the Cultural Revolution, because he wanted to make certain economic reforms involving farmers having their own land for profit purposes. Mao did not like this idea, and Deng was out of favor. In 1989, Deng agreed with Li Peng that the protests were a threat to the government. He then informed the military to attack the protesters, for they were a threat to the party. Deng died in 1997.