Tiananmen Square massacre 1989. Tiananmen Square, in the heart of the Chinese capital, Beijing, has been a place of enormous significance in modern Chinese history. For seven weeks in the spring and early summer of 1989, it was the

focus of unparalleled protests by students and workers against the political and economic system, leading to a brutal government crackdown and international condemnation of the communist regime. On April 15, 1989, the spark that ignited the protests was the death of Hu Yaobang, the former

chairman and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, who was popular among the people of China as he was seen as being an opponent of corruption and nepotism and was more democratically minded than many other leading members of the Communist Party of China, being in

favor of greater freedom of speech and of the press, a more transparent system, and economic liberalism. His death therefore led to an outpouring of national grief with small public gatherings arranged as a show of respect and to give people the opportunity to mourn. One of the largest of these

gatherings was held at the Monument to the People's Heroes in the center of Tiananmen Square. Students began to join these gatherings in large numbers, seeing them as an opportunity to put pressure on the government to reform aspects of the political and economic system. On

April 17th, a group of 500 students marched to the Great Hall of the People to hold a small informal ceremony of remembrance for Hu Yaobang. The police, fearful that the marchers were intent on causing trouble, dispersed the group. This

led to more students joining the gathering in Tiananmen Square where their leaders produced a list of seven demands, their suggestions on how China should be reformed. The following day, a group of students tried to take these demands to the Standing Committee of the

Communist Party. They were prevented by a hastily formed police presence and left frustrated as a lack of an official response. The students tried again, organizing a sit-in outside of the official government residence on April 20th. The police used batons on the protesters and

when news of the violence filtered back to the students in Tiananmen Square, furious anger erupted. The next day, 100,000 students marched to the square, gathering there before it could be closed off for the funeral of Hu Yaobang, which was due to be held the next day.

The students requested to meet Premier Li Peng but received no response. They therefore organized a two-day strike at the universities. By now, the protests had spread to other Chinese cities as well. The government, which had up until now been hoping that the protests would run out of momentum, decided to act on April

26th. The state-controlled press went on the attack, accusing the students of plotting civil unrest. This enraged the students, 50,000 of whom took to the streets demanding that the government retract their accusation. The anger which they felt further galvanized the

students to focus their demands, which now encompassed an end to corruption, freedom of the press, and a move towards democracy. In this, they had the support of the workers of Beijing, who joined the protests on May 4th. 100,000 students and

Workers marched in Beijing to demand meetings between student leaders and the government, as well as an acceleration of political and economic reform. This was rejected by the government, which only agreed to talk to certain members of approved student organizations. The protesters decided to take advantage of

the fact that the leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, would be arriving in China on May 15th. His visit had generated a huge amount of international interest, meaning that large numbers of foreign journalists were present in China. The protesters knew that this gave them a unique

opportunity to put pressure on the government, who would want to avoid negative publicity. Therefore, on May 13th, the protesters demanded that the government withdraw the accusations made against the press on April 26th. A significant number of protesters in Tiananmen Square also went on hunger strike, an act which won

them the support of many ordinary people who saw the students as being willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of all Chinese people. On May 18th, Premier Li Peng and several of the student leaders met for a televised debate. However, rather than having a dialogue, the discussions

were confrontational. By now, the government, led by Deng Xiaoping, was desperate to end the protests. On May 19th, General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, who was sympathetic to the demonstrations, went to Tiananmen Square where he made a speech urging the students to end their

hunger strike. He was unsuccessful, and a split now emerged among the leadership of the Communist Party. Zhao would then soon be dismissed from his position as General Secretary. Some more moderate figures wished to make concessions to appease the protesters and end the tension; others, such as Li Peng, disagreed.

regarding the lengthy protests and the idea of being seen to give in as a threat to China's stability, the hardline members were in control of the Armed Forces. They won the debate and support of the paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, and on May 20th, martial law was

declared in Beijing. The military were ordered into the city but found their way blocked by a mass of protesters. In the face of such mass unrest, the army was ordered to withdraw on May 24th, and the demonstrations continued. During this time, the demonstrators built and rallied

around the Goddess of Democracy, a 33-foot high statue built from foam and paper mache. On the evening of June 3rd, the leaders of the Communist Party then decided to bring the protests to an end once and for all. They ordered the People's Liberation Army to move into

Beijing. When hostile protesters set buses alight to use as roadblocks to slow the Army's progress, the troops fired live ammunition into the crowds. Clashes continued as the PLA attempted to clear the streets, moving up Chang'an Avenue towards the square using tear gas, small arms fire,

armored personnel carriers and tanks. As injured civilians were taken to the hospital by rickshaw drivers who braved rifle fire to pluck them out of what was rapidly becoming a battle zone, the army pushed the protesters back to Tiananmen

Square and now sought to end the protests by forcing the remaining demonstrators to leave. This is where soldiers fired their assault rifles into the crowd of protesters who remained as the APCs advanced, running over the crowd and barricades, crushing them. Protesters who attempted

to take shelter from the assault in buses were hauled out and beaten, and students who tried to leave the square peacefully also came under attack. Soldiers were also attacked in turn by protesters with rocks and Molotov cocktails or were simply dragged from

their vehicles and beaten to death. Tanks arrived in the square between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. on the morning of June 4th and the square was completely cleared of protesters by 5:40 a.m. Despite the

presence of a large number of foreign journalists in Beijing, this crackdown was difficult to capture on film as the government had ordered foreign networks to stop broadcasting from the city as military action became more likely. Those that captured footage in the heart of the crackdown risked being attacked and

killed themselves and rushed to smuggle it out for the world to see. One infamous piece of footage that was captured was the standoff between a lone protester, known as 'Tank Man', and a column of tanks returning to Tiananmen Square the next day, June 5th, which immediately made

headlines around the world. Those government officials who had sympathized with the protesters were purged from the party and placed under house arrest. Members of the state media who had expressed support for the protesters were also removed from their positions. The events in Tiananmen Square also led

to increased censorship as the government sought to hide the truth of what had happened from the Chinese people. The Chinese government faced international condemnation for the crackdown. The shock of the violent government response to the protests meant that the government quickly regained control. Student leaders were

arrested and were sent to prison with student leader Wang Dan sentenced to seven years. Some other student leaders were able to flee the country, and many students and their sympathetic professors were punished by being blacklisted, making it hard to get employment. Workers who participated in the protests

were treated more harshly, with those caught being quickly executed. Estimates of the number killed vary greatly. The official Chinese government figure of two hundred and forty-one fatalities is widely thought to be false, with other estimates of the number killed ranging from eight hundred to ten thousand.

Tiananmen Square Massacre (1989)

Simple History

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, sparked by the death of Hu Yaobang.

Hu Yaobang's death ignited protests due to his popularity and reformist views.

Students presented seven demands for political and economic reform.

Initial student marches and police response escalated the situation.

Police violence against protesters fueled further demonstrations.

Government accusations against students intensified the protests.

Protests spread to other cities, encompassing demands for democracy and an end to corruption.

Workers joined the protests, demanding government meetings and reforms.

Protesters leveraged Gorbachev's visit and media attention to increase pressure.

Hunger strike by protesters gained public support.

Zhao Ziyang's attempt to end the hunger strike was unsuccessful.

Martial law declared, leading to military intervention.

PLA's violent crackdown on June 3rd resulted in numerous casualties.

Government censorship and suppression of information followed the event.

'Tank Man' incident became a symbol of resistance.

International condemnation of the Chinese government's actions.

Student leaders arrested, some fled; workers faced harsh punishments.

Disputed death tolls ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands.