Tiananmen Square crackdown began in Beijing
On this day · 3 June 1989
On the night of June 3-4, 1989, Chinese troops and tanks rolled into Beijing to crush a peaceful movement for political reform.
For roughly seven weeks in the spring of 1989, students, workers, and ordinary citizens occupied Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, demanding political reform, an end to corruption, and greater freedoms. The demonstrations spread to cities across China and drew worldwide attention.
On the night of June 3-4, 1989, the leadership ordered the People’s Liberation Army to clear the square by force. Soldiers backed by tanks and armoured vehicles advanced toward the city centre from several directions, opening fire on crowds along the way. The U.S. State Department later summarised the violence using hour-by-hour intelligence cables from the scene.
“On the night of June 3 and 4, the People’s Liberation Army stormed the Square with tanks, crushing the protests with terrible human costs.”
The death toll remains disputed and was never officially disclosed; estimates range from hundreds to thousands killed. The crackdown chilled U.S.-China relations for years and became one of the most heavily censored events in modern Chinese history, symbolised abroad by the lone “Tank Man” who blocked a column of tanks.
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