On the afternoon of May 2, student representatives from more than 40 institutions of higher education in Beijing went to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, where they submitted their "Petition" to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, and the State Council. The petition listed twelve dialog demands, including: Equal dialog; student representatives to be chosen by the students rather than the officials; government representatives to be members of the Politburo Standing Committee or at least the rank of State Council vice-premier; Chinese and foreign reporters to be allowed to report from the scene, and entire process to be broadcast live; private individuals and groups invited by both parties to be allowed to participate as observers; and no later reprisals to occur.

The students gave the authorities until 12 noon on May 3 to reply; otherwise, the students "reserve[d] the right to continue to march and petition on May 4".

Reference: Zhang Wanshu, "The Big Bang of History: A Complete Record of the June 4th Incident"