===Tiananmen Square massacre===
[[File:Wmr1a.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Remains of what used to be [[human being]]s in the Tiananmen Square [[democracy]] protests.<ref>http://www.cnd.org/HYPLAN/yawei/june4th/</ref>]]
:{{Main articleSee also|Tiananmen Square massacre|Zhao Ziyang}}
After Zhao became the party General Secretary, the economic and political reforms he had championed came under increasing attack. His proposal in May 1988 to accelerate price reform led to widespread popular complaints about rampant inflation and gave opponents of rapid reform the opening to call for greater centralization of economic controls and stricter prohibitions against Western influence. This precipitated a political debate, which grew more heated through the winter of 1988-89.