Monument to the People's Heroes
When Hu Yaobang died suddenly on April 15, 1989, university students laid wreaths at the Monument to the People's Heroes and organized sit-ins outside the Great Hall of the People and Zhongnanhai. They demanded the Party rescind past criticism of Hu, renounce the campaigns against spiritual pollution and bourgeois liberalism, disclose the assets of the family members of party officials, lift orders against public assembly, permit freedom of the press, and increase salaries for university graduates. On the night of April 21, 100,000 students marched into Tiananmen Square to attend Hu's funeral, which was held inside the Great Hall of the People the following day. Officials inside the Hall did not meet with students in the Square, who began to boycott classes. Workers formed an independent union and joined the protests. On April 23, as Zhao Ziyang was departing for a trip to North Korea, he told Li Peng to restore normalcy, avoid worsening tensions with students and refrain from using force, except against those who commit offenses against life and property.