On October 7, 1989, East Germany still held a grand military parade, but due to crushing national debt and widespread public anger sparked by the leadership's support for the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, large-scale protests broke out. After Krenz took over as General Secretary, unable to turn the tide and blindly shaking hands with the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) further intensified conflicts, ultimately leading to reunification with West Germany less than a year later on October 3, 1990.