Bo was an important supporter of economic reform in the early 1980s, but eventually supported the efforts of other, more conservative, party elders to remove Hu from power in 1987. During the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 Bo initially supported moderate Party leaders who called to compromise with protesters, but was later persuaded to support Party hardliners who believed that the students were secretly being controlled by "imperialists with ulterior motives". He ultimately supported the decision to use force to suppress the demonstrations.[1]