Tiananmen Square - 1989

Nearly 1 million Chinese, mostly students, crowded into central Beijing

They protested for greater democracy and call for the resignations of Chinese Communist Party leaders

Demonstrations took place between April 15 and June 4, 1989.

Demonstrations began after the death on April 15 of former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang.

Hu Yaobang

General Secretary of the Communist Party

Widely admired for his moderate policies

Was a reformist and forced out of office

Hu Yaobang’s Beliefs

• Wanted rehabilitation of people persecuted during the Cultural Revolution

• Believed Tibet should have greater autonomy• Have better relations

with Japan

Mourners began gathering in Tiananmen Square after the death of Hu Yaobang on April 15, 1989.

Protesters erected a Goddess of Liberty Statue resembling the Statue of Liberty

This was their call for more freedom

The protests mainly took place in Tiananmen Square but also occurred in several cities in China

Tension grew when Mikhail Gorbachev’s (Russia) visit ceremony had to be cancelled

Map of Beijing

Area around Tiananmen Square was completely sealed off by troops

Tanks and troops moving in at night

Government sent in tanks and the army on June 4 to stop the protests

Government enacted marshal law

Estimates between 250 up to 7,000 people were killed

Sources reports indicate close to 2,500 were killed by soldiers

Chinese government would not release actual death toll

Tanks were reported to have driven over protesters in tents

Troops fired indiscriminately at crowds – fired on unarmed citizens

Chinese government asked the hospitals not to report any numbers on deaths or injuries

Thousands of protesters were rounded up and put in prisons

How the western world remembers the Tiananmen Square Massacre:

• Students protested for democracy• Chinese government sent troops and tanks in

to stop the protest• Student protesters were brutally massacred

20th Anniversary- 2009