What happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and did it really happen? The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were a series of demonstrations in Beijing, China, that culminated in a violent government crackdown on June 3-4, 1989. The protests began in April 1989, led mainly by students and intellectuals calling for political and economic reform, greater freedom of speech, and an end to government corruption.
The movement grew rapidly, attracting broad support from various social groups. By May, Tiananmen Square was occupied by thousands of protesters, leading to a large-scale sit-in. The Chinese government initially tolerated the protests, but as the movement persisted and the protesters’ demands grew, the government declared martial law and sent in the military to suppress the demonstrations.
On the night of June 3 and the early hours of June 4, 1989, troops with tanks and armed soldiers moved into the square, resulting in a violent crackdown. The Chinese government has never released an official death toll, but estimates range from several hundred to several thousand killed, with many more injured.
The Chinese government has heavily censored information about the Tiananmen Square massacre within China, and public discussion of the event is taboo. Despite this, the events of Tiananmen Square are well-documented and confirmed by numerous eyewitness accounts, photographs, videos, and reports from journalists and international observers.
