Write to Laignee Barron at Laignee. Barron time. People hold candles during a vigil in Hong Kong on June 4, , to mark the 29th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing. A dissident student asks soldiers to go back home as crowds flooded into the central Beijing June 3, Related Stories. Already a print subscriber? Go here to link your subscription.
Need help? Visit our Help Center. Go here to connect your wallet. The protest movement began after the death of Hu Yaobang , a Communist Party leader who worked to liberalize Chinese politics, but was ousted from the party in part for his sympathy with pro-democracy students. In the wake of his death from a heart attack, mourning students poured into Tiananmen Square in late April.
They began to demand democratic reforms, including an end to press censorship and restrictions on freedom of assembly. Over the next few weeks, the square drew millions of protestors. In response to their ballooning numbers, China imposed martial law in late May and ousted Western reporters. The next day, , troops and more than tanks converged on Tiananmen Square and opened fire.
Soldiers used bayonets, clubs, and rifles loaded with expanding bullets. Although students and residents resisted, they were overwhelmed. Hear from two photojournalists who are still haunted by the massacre. The Western world learned of the massacre from smuggled images and secret reports. Among them were videos and photos of Tank Man, an unidentified Chinese man who managed momentarily to stop a convoy of tanks leaving the square on June 5.
He is thought to be one of multiple people who attempted to block the tanks. Although his image has become a symbol of resistance, his fate remains unknown.
The extent of the massacre is also unknown. The Chinese government stated that civilians were killed; student leaders claim up to 3, deaths. In , the United Kingdom released a secret diplomatic cable in which a U. Some 1, people were arrested; it would take 27 years for Miao Deshun, thought to be the final prisoner, to walk free in An accurate death toll may never come to light. The Chinese government has rarely acknowledged the events; when it does, it is only to defend its actions.
A Hong Kong museum devoted to the massacre has been repeatedly closed and sabotaged ; many of its Chinese visitors arrive knowing nothing about the protests. The pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square presented a brief window of hope that China might embrace a more democratic system. In , newly released UK documents revealed that a diplomatic cable from then British Ambassador to China, Sir Alan Donald, had said that 10, had died.
Discussion of the events that took place in Tiananmen Square is highly sensitive in China. Posts relating to the massacres are regularly removed from the internet, tightly controlled by the government. So, for a younger generation who didn't live through the protests, there is little awareness about what happened. China defends Tiananmen crackdown in rare comments. Image source, AFP. By early June , huge numbers had gathered in Tiananmen Square.
What led up to the events? In the s, China was going through huge changes. Image source, Getty Images. In the mids, student-led protests started. How did the protests grow? What was the government's response? Who was Tank Man?
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