"Our hearts our bleeding," said a statement written by the student leaders, whose month-long protest culminated in a hunger strike by 3,000 students, 600 of whom were taken to hospital yesterday, suffering from fatigue and hunger.

Nearly 3,000 students have been on a hunger strike in the square since Saturday. Most of them have been taken to hospital at some point, later returning to the square. Twelve student hunger strikers from the Peking Drama Institute yesterday set up camp yesterday outside the Great Hall of the People, the Independent News Service reports. The only fluid they accept is the occasional dab from a wet cloth on the cheeks and forehead.

The student campaign now shaking China was triggered by the April 15 death of ousted party boss Hu Yaobang, known for his liberal views. Mourning students demonstrated for more than a week in Tiananmen Square, Beijing's symbolic centre of power.