Today in History: Hunger Strike5

At approximately 4:45 am, a group of officials headed by GeneralSecretary Zhao Ziyang and Premier Li Peng went to visit the students inTiananmen Square. Zhao spoke to the students through a megaphone."Fellow students, we've come too late, sorry. You are correct when youcriticise us, but we are not here to plead for your forgiveness." Zhaowent on to express his concern for students' health. "You have goodintentions, and you want our country to become better… Although theproblems you have mentioned will eventually be resolved, things arecomplicated and there must be a process to resolve the problems." Zhaolater promised that the government would not abandon the effort to seeksolutions and compromise to the students' demands, and he urged thestudents to end their fast. Zhao's speech received thunderous applausefrom the students. The students ended their hunger strike at around 9pm.Demonstrations escalated elsewhere in China, supporting the students at Tiananmen Square. There were rumors that Zhao Ziyang had decided to resign from hisposition, and that martial law will be enacted soon. Military trucksstarted entering the city, but were stopped by crowds in the suburb.