[1] They believed that because plans were in place for the grand welcoming of Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, on May 15, at Tiananmen Square, the government would respond.
[2] The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did not heed the students' demands and moved the welcome ceremony to the airport.
Citywide support for the students led to mass protests between May 16 and May 18, which involved people from all walks of life including workers, youth, the elderly, and many others.
According to student leader Chai Ling, she first heard of the idea in one of her classes from Zhang Boli, a visiting writer at Peking University.
[15] The hunger strike was meant to force dialogue with the government by occupying the square before Gorbachev's arrival on May 15.
[16] The official goals of the students are outlined in the "Hunger Strike Manifesto", which was distributed throughout Beijing using cassette tapes and handbills.
Other student leaders including Li Lu and Pu Zhiqiang also rose to prominence because of their involvement.
Louisa Lim states that the media portrayal of "the country's youth sacrificing themselves for its future shook many who until then had not been involved.
[20] Therefore, there was local and worldwide sympathy existed for the hunger strikers, which drew attention to the mass protests.
Citywide protests involving peasants, workers, the elderly, and individuals from all walks of life began on May 16 and continued to the 18.
[21] The Beijing Red Cross and local hospitals had permission from the government to ensure that no students died.
This same tactic was also used by student leaders during the 2014 Hong Kong protests, the next mass movement on Chinese soil.