The Massacre
The students’ demands:
The students’ demands during the Tiananmen Square protests were focused on promoting transparency, democratic ideals, and social improvements:
Recognize Hu Yaobang’s pro-democracy views as valid.
Acknowledge the mistakes in campaigns against "spiritual pollution" and "bourgeois liberalization."
Disclose the income and assets of state leaders and their families.
Permit the establishment of independent newspapers and end press censorship.
Increase educational funding and improve compensation for intellectuals.
Lift restrictions on public demonstrations in Beijing.
Ensure unbiased media coverage of student actions in official outlets.
These requests underscore the peaceful, democratic nature of the protests, framing them as calls for reform rather than acts of rebellion. Rather than a riot, the movement was an appeal for accountability, freedom of expression, and institutional integrity within the government.
THE YEAR OF 1989
April 15:
Hu Yaobang, former General Secretary of the Communist Party and a prominent reformist, passes away. Mourning posters appear in public spaces, honoring his legacy.
April 19:
Students march to Zhongnanhai, the residence of government leaders, staging a sit-in. Clashes occur between students and police.
April 22:
Hu Yaobang’s funeral takes place, drawing large crowds.
April 26:
Protests continue to swell, with the People's Daily, the official newspaper, labeling the demonstrations as an "organized conspiracy to sow chaos." More than 150,000 students break through police barricades and gather in Tiananmen Square.
May 4:
Approximately 100,000 students take to the streets, amplifying the protest.
May 13:
Frustrated by the government’s silence, over 1,000 students initiate a hunger strike to press for a response to their demands.
May 17-18:
Support for the hunger strikers grows as nearly a million people march to Tiananmen Square, uniting in solidarity.
May 19:
Students and citizens block troops attempting to enter Tiananmen Square.
May 30:
The “Goddess of Democracy,” a large statue symbolizing freedom, is erected in the square, becoming a powerful symbol of the movement.
June 2:
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), equipped with tanks and armored vehicles, re-enters Beijing to take control of the situation.
June 3:
Sporadic gunfire erupts across Beijing, and hundreds of civilians are killed as clashes intensify.
June 4:
Around 1:00 a.m., PLA soldiers reach Tiananmen Square but await government orders to clear the area. Instructed to avoid firing unless necessary, the soldiers are mandated to clear the square by 6:00 a.m. with no room for delay. They extend an offer of amnesty to the remaining students if they agree to vacate. Around 4:00 a.m., student leaders conduct a vote on whether to leave or stay. Although many students want to remain, the decision is made to vacate the square.
Later that morning, as the students disperse, citizens — believed to be the parents of the student protestors — attempt to re-enter Tiananmen Square via Chang’an Boulevard. When they refuse orders to leave, soldiers open fire, resulting in heavy casualties as citizens, shocked, initially do not believe live ammunition is being used.
The true death toll remains unknown. The Chinese Red Cross initially reported 2,600 deaths but swiftly retracted the figure under pressure from the government. Official records list 241 deaths, including soldiers, and 7,000 injuries, though the actual numbers are widely believed to be much higher.
Li Peng, The Butcher
Then-Premier Li Peng engaged in negotiations with student protesters in the lead-up to the Tiananmen Square massacre. However, his uncompromising stance and resolute support for a military crackdown quickly earned him the infamous label of "butcher" among the protesters. Known for his severe actions and dismissive attitude toward the movement, Li became a symbol of the government's harsh response, reflecting the CCP’s determination to quash dissent and reassert control. His legacy remains one of the most controversial figures associated with the tragedy, remembered for his pivotal role in the repression that followed.
Casualty
The Tiananmen Square massacre left a staggering toll in its wake, shrouded in secrecy but deeply felt by those who witnessed it. In the early hours of June 4, 1989, as soldiers and tanks moved into Beijing, chaos ensued as protesters, many of whom were students, attempted to block the People's Liberation Army from reaching the square. Gunfire erupted throughout the streets of Beijing, and within hours, scenes of unimaginable violence unfolded. Eyewitnesses reported seeing unarmed civilians mowed down by bullets, families crying out in desperation as they searched for loved ones, and students, once filled with hope, felled by machine-gun fire as they stood firm against the advance. Although exact numbers remain unknown due to government suppression, early reports, including from the Chinese Red Cross, initially estimated as many as 2,600 fatalities, a figure quickly retracted under official pressure. The government’s final count claimed only 241 deaths, including soldiers, though international sources and survivor accounts suggest a death toll likely in the thousands, with thousands more wounded. For days after, blood-stained pavement and hastily discarded belongings marked the aftermath, a stark reminder of lives cut short in a peaceful pursuit of reform. The Chinese government’s swift and brutal response not only claimed countless lives but extinguished the last embers of political openness, silencing dissent and marking an era of repression that lingers to this day.