 also posit that the second-generation of hardliners, to which Chen belonged, maintained their tough stance, in unison with party elders, to get promoted within the party.This they felt they could achieve if Zhao and his appointees were pushed out.Chen Xitong was regularly accused by protesters of corruption and some demanded that he be impeached, accusing him of controlling the media like a “shameless warlord.” Chen Xitong was allied with many of the more famous targets of the protesters, like Li Peng.