As the Government remained unresponsive to the rallies and used delay tactics to deal with their demands, the students decided to scale up their protest by staging a hunger-strike in Tiananmen Square during Gorbachev‘s visit to China.

The hunger-strike started on 13th May with 2,000 students, and increased to over 3,000 students. A few days later they started to forego even water to force the government's hand. Yet the government remained impassive. All sectors in Beijing were impressed by the students’ determination and enraged by the government’s silence. Citizens held rallies to support the students and call for a dialogue. Participants of the rallies included workers, peasants, army, media, intellectuals, educators, primary and high school students totalling over 1 million people. The students movement has spreaded to major cities of the whole country. Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan were also supportive of this campaign to fight for freedom and democracy for China.

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• The Tankman (PBS Production, 2006)

  A documentary about Tiananmen and its aftermath