Taiwan ends martial law

The CCP Central Committee adopted a decision to reform China’s economic structure, expanding the reform agenda beyond agriculture and rural policy. It gave market mechanisms a larger role while...

China and the United Kingdom set terms for Hong Kong’s 1997 transfer under the “one country, two systems” framework. The agreement addressed a colonial-era settlement, while subsequent disputes over...

The PRC formally requested to resume its status in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, beginning a long process that eventually led to WTO accession. The application marked an attempt to enter...

Taiwanese opposition activists founded the Democratic Progressive Party while martial law was still in force, challenging the Kuomintang’s one-party system. The move reflected local democratic...

China and Portugal signed a declaration setting the terms for Portugal’s administration of Macau until the 1999 transfer of sovereignty. The agreement drew on negotiations between two states but...

The National People’s Congress approved Hainan’s elevation to provincial status and designated it a special economic zone. The measure extended the experimentation with market opening and sought to...

Chinese troops used force to end the occupation of Tiananmen Square and surrounding protests, causing deaths and injuries. The crackdown isolated China diplomatically for a period and revealed the...

Nine students began a sit-in at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, demanding political reform and an end to the entrenched “ten-thousand-year” legislature. The six-day protest helped press Taiwan’s...

Premier Li Peng announced the decision to develop Pudong, across the Huangpu River from Shanghai’s historic center. The project became a showcase of urban modernization, finance, and foreign...

The Shanghai Stock Exchange was established as China rebuilt domestic securities markets. It became a key institution in the gradual expansion of market mechanisms under party-state supervision. Its...