ON CENTENARY OF MAY 4TH MOVEMENT!

EXACTLY 100 YEARS AGO HISTORY WAS MADE BY THE STUDENTS IN CHIN A DEFINING OR GIVING BIRTH TO A NEW EPOCH. TODAY'S ITS ESSENCE SHOULD BE RESSURECTED. ON CENTENARY OF MAY 4TH MOVEMENT LET US REMEMBER HOW ANTI-IMPERILAIST STUDENT MOVEMENTS AND BECOME A PRECURSOR FOR THE FORMATION OF A GENUINE MAOIST COMMUNIST PARTY IT ALSO MADE THE WORKING CLASS REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL AS A REVOLUTIONARY FORCE AND CREATED THE NED IN THEM TO BUILD A POLITICAL PARTY.

By Harsh Thakor

100 years ago this movement on May 4th was the stepping stone to the communist movement and gave birth to the communist party .Even today we must study it and apply it to the present context with Imperialism emerging in another pernicious form of neocolonialism and not British or Japanese colonialism. Sadly today Globalization has totally diverted the anti imperialist feeling amongst the youth of the world in developed and third world countries. May 4th movement was emulated by students in Naxalbari movement and in students movement of Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. It proved that the student Community plays a major role as a precursor to the Communist party building..Today the world economic crisis has reached its zenith which lays the ground for similar student uprisings. Significant that the student protest took place before the formation of the Communist Party. Also emulated by the revolt in Paris in 1968 and the GPCR too studied it's experience.The movement fought against Confucian teachings ,compromise with foreign powers and created the base for scientific education. The cause of the Student revolt was the unfair declaration In the Versailles peace conference decided that Shantung would still belong to Japan and not be restored to China in spite of China standing on the victorious side in World War 1.On May 4th over 3000 students assembled at Tiananmen square and marched through the streets, distributing leaflets and chanting anti-imperialist slogans. The Students had demanded that 3 ministers who were lackeys of Japanese imperialism should be punished. They ransacked and set the house of one on fire. The government called for the police and arrested 32 students. Like wildfire the movement spread to all the major cities. The progressive chancellor of Peking was forced to resign On June 3rd 1919 a demonstration of students was brutally attacked and 300 arrested. The government banned all the demonstrations. The movement leadership now fell into the hands of the workers, who joined the students to impose a boycott of Japanese goods. Now the government was compelled to release the arrested students and instruct the Chinese delegation in Versailles not to sign the peace treaty. The water had simply reached its boiling point and a spark had turned into a prairie fire. A perfect illustration of how scattered forces of all sections could be united or galvanized into a cohesive force with a polarization against imperialism.

Pix by China lauds 100 years since the 1919 May 4th protests .