1986 Chinese student demonstrations

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Student demonstrations took place in a number of Chinese cities from December 1986 until mid-January 1987.^[1] The demonstrations started in the city of Hefei before spreading to other cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing.^[2] The movement was heavily influenced by the Chinese intellectuals Fang Lizhi and Wang Ruowang, who were critical of the Chinese government's lack of political reforms.^[3] The demonstrations quickly dissipated by mid-January before achieving any of its stated goals.^[4] The lack of response from Hu Yaobang, who was the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the time, would result in his removal from power on January 15, 1987, and his replacement by Zhao Ziyang.^[5]