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Mao's Death
Mao Zedong died on September 6th, 1976 at the age of 82 due to a heart attack. As a generation of China had come to a closure, there were some political and economic reforms to the country. Mao's legacy still lives on, with his picture in the center of Tiananmen gate. -
China's Open Door Policy
Deng Xiaoping created the Open Door Policy to increase foreign trade and economic investment. From this, the trade and relationship with other countries drastically improved, leading to an economic boost in China. The policy protects the equal privileges for the countries trading with China. China also had more meetings with other presidents, to widen China's borders and trade. -
China's One Child Policy
Deng Xiaoping created the One Child Policy to limit China's population, whose country population is currently the biggest. The rule has decreased China's population by 300 million people over its first twenty years. Many human rights activists opposed this policy, as this rule has caused forced abortions, abandonment, and infanticide. Because of this, the policy was abolished in 2016. -
Sino-Vietnam War
The Sino-Vietnam War, also known as the third Indochina war, was fought between China and Vietnam over the border dispute. This one month war was lead by China, in response to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978. Both Vietnam and China claimed victory in the war, gaining new territory. -
Tiananmen Square
The Tiananmen Square protest is most known for the massacre on June 4th, 1989. The protest started on April 15th, 1989 as a student-led demonstration against the slow reforms in China since the China revolution. The popularity of the demonstration increased, and soon the people took over the Tiananmen Square as a peaceful protest. On June 4th, the Chinese government used tanks and rifles to clear the square. The number of civilian deaths has been estimated variously from 180 to 10,454. -
Handover of Hong Kong
After a 99 year lease as a British colony, Hong Kong was returned back to China. As a major economic city, it came as no surprise when Britain wanted Hong Kong as its colony after its success with the Opium War. Hong Kong was given a 50 years status as a "special administrative region", for the transition from a British colony back to being a part of China. -
Sichuan Earthquake
The Great Sichuan Earthquake occurred at 14:28:01 on May 12th, 2008. The earthquake was at a 7.9 magnitude, while is very high. Over 69,000 died during the earthquake, and it is known as the 21st deadliest earthquake of all time. It cost 845,100,000,000 yuan to repair the damage done to the area. 4,800,000 people were left homeless. -
Beijing Olympics
China opened its doors and hosted the 2008 Olympic games, with 10,924 athletes competing in 28 sports and 302 different events.
This provided long-term benefits to the citizens and boosted China's economy. The Beijing Olympics presented an opportunity for China to show the world how “democratic, open, civilized, friendly, and harmonious” China is. -
Liu Xiaobo is jailed after awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison due to being a renowned activist for human rights. This sparked outrage among the public as he was detained from discussing China's forms of government. Prior to being jailed, Liu Xiaobo was involved by writing Charter 8, a petition advocating political reform in China. -
China and Taiwan's leaders meet for the first time since the China Civil War
On 7 November 2015, Ma Ying-jeou, president of the Republic of China, and Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China, met in Singapore. This historic talk was the first since the Chinese Civil War with the two nations splitting in 1949.
