On June 9, 1989, China's Military Chairman Deng Xiaoping delivered what was officially termed his "Speech Made While Receiving Cadres of the Martial Law Units in the Capitol at and Above the Army Level".

[3] Deng asserted that the Tiananmen protests arose out of a failure of the leadership to uphold strongly the control exercised by the party as well as ideological flexibility that pandered to Western values.

[3] He called on the leadership to further entrench party orthodoxy among young people, effectively re-introducing restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, and assembly.

[4] At the time of the Tiananmen Square protests, Deng's only official title was that of the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, serving as the Commander-in-Chief, which means that he held ultimate control of the army.

Deng delivered the speech in this capacity, as to not overstep his 'official' titles, but in reality it also gave an impression that he was in firm control and the country was no longer at risk of a civil war or uprising.

Nonetheless, Deng's economic policies lost significant traction within the party following the protests, and the rigour of reform was not renewed until his nanxun ("Southern Tour") in 1992.