Today in History: martial law in Beijing 28 May

About a hundred thousand people on foot and on bicycles marched throughthe capital to demand more democracy and the resignation of Li Peng.Police and soldiers made no move to interfere. The protest was part ofan "International Chinese People's Demonstration Day" to put pressureon the government . The demonstrators paraded along fie differentroutes for maximum exposure to the city's residents. In another discussion, student leaders and representatives votedagainst the proposal to evacuate the Square. They decided to maintainpressure on the government by staying in the Square until a meeting ofthe NPC Standing Committee on June 20.Other demonstrations responding to the "International Chinese People'sDemonstration Day" were held in Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia,and the United States. In Hong Kong, the protest draw a crowd of 1.5million, the largest ever protest in the then British colony.