> Then they would've been quietly hunted down to the last one without making much of a bang. That's pure conjecture, of course. One thing to keep in mind is t

> Then they would've been quietly hunted down to the last one without making much of a bang. That's pure conjecture, of course. One thing to keep in mind is that the events of Tiananmen (and beyond, actually, as they did not involve only Beijing and only the students) scared the government, as you mention. That's why the reaction was so harsh and the backlash so durable. The government might have taken a softer stance if the events had been less threatening.