There were many turning points and key moments in spring 1989 that could have pushed events in new directions and led to different outcomes. They included inviting students to attend Hu Yaobang's memorial service, Zhao Ziyang not traveling to North Korea, protesters escalating their civil disobedience through self-immolation, and convening a special session of the National People's Congress (NPC) to rescind martial law. These were all genuine possibilities, but they were made less possible by the realities of old-man politics.