On April 15, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee established a Funeral Office, and announced to the public:

  1. Comrade Hu Yaobang's funeral activities would be presided over by the CCP Central Committee.
  2. A major memorial service would be held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, to be held concurrently with a viewing ceremony.
  3. On the day of the memorial service, flags at Tian'anmen; Xinhua Gate; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Party committees and governments in the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities; international sea ports and airports; and at embassies and consulates abroad would be flown at half-staff.

In response to popular sentiment, the Funeral Management Office held a meeting on the 17th, at which it was decided to raise Hu Yaobang's funeral format to at least the equivalent of a marshal, and that the funeral would be handled in accordance with the standards of a top Party or national leader. The following was also conveyed:

  1. On the 21st, in the Great Hall of the People, a 100,000-person viewing ceremony would be held.
  2. On the 22nd, a memorial service for 4,000 people would be held in the Great Hall of the People.
  3. It would be allowed to appropriately report on local mass mourning activities.
  4. In addition to flags flying at half-staff on the day of the memorial service, embassies and consulates abroad would also establish mourning halls, with photos of Hu Yaobang draped in black. Condolence books would be made available for mourners to sign.
  5. Anyone bringing wreaths to the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tian'anmen Square monument would not be obstructed from doing so.

However, at 9pm that night, the Central Committee gave short notice that the 100,000-person viewing ceremony was canceled. According to the book "The Critical Moment – Li Peng Diaries", Hu Yaobang's wife Li Zhao also represented the family members in expressing hopes that the public could pay their respects to the remains. However, Li Peng wrote: "Letting the masses pay their respects to Yaobang's remains will inevitably cause even greater chaos in society. For those who intend to use the occasion of Yaobang's death to foment chaos, this would provide them with just such an opportunity to take advantage of." Under layer upon layer of restrictions, the people's discontent was escalating day by day.

References: Zhang Wanshu, "The Big Bang of History: A Complete Record of the June 4th Incident"; "The Critical Moment – Li Peng Diaries"; Yang Jisheng, "Political Struggles During the Age of Reform in China"