Former Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang — a reformist who had been forced from office in January 1987 — died of a heart attack on 15 April 1989. Beijing university students began assembling at Tiananmen Square the next day in spontaneous mourning that within a week turned into demonstrations for political reform.
The protests grew through April-May 1989. On 13 May approximately 1,000 students began a hunger strike in the square. The 15-18 May 1989 state visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev — the first since 1959 — saw the welcoming ceremonies relocated from Tiananmen because of the occupation. International press attention was substantial.
Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, a reformist sympathetic to the protesters, was overruled by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and Premier Li Peng. Martial law was declared on 20 May 1989. The first attempted army entry into central Beijing was blocked by civilian crowds on 20-22 May. The PLA withdrew to await reorganization.
3-4 June 1989
The second clearance order was issued on 2 June 1989. Approximately 150,000 PLA troops from multiple military regions had been assembled around Beijing. The 27th and 38th Armies were assigned to clear the square. The advance began at approximately 22:00 on 3 June 1989.
The principal killing did not occur in Tiananmen Square itself — eyewitness journalist accounts (Robin Munro, Columbia Journalism Review, 1990) established that the students in the square at approximately 04:00 on 4 June negotiated a peaceful withdrawal. The principal killing occurred along the approaches — particularly Chang’an Avenue at Muxidi and at the Liubukou intersection — where PLA columns fired into civilian crowds that had attempted to block the army’s progress.
A Type 59 main battle tank crushed students in tents at Liubukou at approximately 06:00 on 4 June 1989.
Death toll
The Chinese government has never published a death toll. Estimates from declassified sources:
— Chinese Red Cross initial estimate (subsequently retracted): approximately 2,600 — Wikileaked 2011 British ambassador cable of June 1989 citing State Council source: approximately 10,000 — Tiananmen Papers (Nathan & Link, 2001) citing internal Party documents: 200-300 civilians, plus several dozen soldiers — Most peer-reviewed Western scholarship: 1,000-3,000
The “Tank Man” — the unidentified civilian photographed standing in front of a column of Type 59 tanks on Chang’an Avenue on the morning of 5 June 1989 — has never been authoritatively identified. He was photographed by five photojournalists including Jeff Widener (AP) and Stuart Franklin (Magnum). The Chinese government claims to have no information on his identity or fate.
Zhao Ziyang was removed from office on 24 June 1989 and lived under house arrest until his death on 17 January 2005. Discussion of Tiananmen remains heavily censored in mainland China. The annual Hong Kong Victoria Park vigil — the largest commemorative event outside Taiwan — was last held in 2019 before being prohibited under the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law.