Download the Complete Report : Link In 1989, approximately 1.5 million Chinese students, workers, and ordinary citizens gathered in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to demand political reform and greater freedoms—marking the largest political protest in the history of communist China. After more than six weeks of peaceful demonstrations, the movement was violently crushed during the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 3–4. It is estimated that over 10,000 people were killed. Some experts have described the crackdown as a genocide; others have called it an annihilation of the masses. Newspaper Headlines around the world in June 1989 were flooded with gut wrenching stories of human endeavor and the brutal suppression. Following are some of them: Brewing Movements in April [btimeline id="3622"] Movement escalating in May and June [btimeline id="3636"] The Judgement Day : 4th June The soldiers opened fire on us with semi-automatic weapons. They opened fire on people who had no weapons, no rocks, and no bricks. The groups's anger reached their limit, and everyone in the alley yelled with one voice: "Down with fascists! Down with [Premier] Li Peng!" "Pop, pop, pop" the bullets flew at us. To avoid getting hurt, we stopped roaring.... I saw injured people being carried to the back of the alley. Some young men found a cart and sent the injured to the closest hospital. An eyewitness Account of the 4th June massacre On June 4, 1989, however, Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters. Turmoil ensued, as tens of thousands of the young students tried to escape the rampaging Chinese forces. Other protesters fought back, stoning the attacking troops and overturning and setting fire to military vehicles. Download the Complete Report : Link Just past 6 am on 4 June, as a convoy of students who had vacated the Square were walking westward in the bicycle lane along Chang'an Avenue back to campus, three tanks pursued them from the Square, firing tear gas. One tank drove through the crowd, killing more than 11 students and injuring scores of others. Later in the morning, thousands of civilians tried to re-enter the Square from the northeast on East Chang'an Avenue, which was blocked by infantry ranks. Many in the crowd were parents of the demonstrators who had been in the Square. As the crowd approached the troops, an officer sounded a warning, and the troops opened fire. The crowd scurried back down the avenue, in view of journalists in the Beijing Hotel. Dozens of civilians were shot in the back as they fled. Later, the crowds surged back toward the troops, who opened fire again. The people then fled in panic. An arriving ambulance was also caught in the gunfire. The crowd tried several more times but could not enter the Square, which remained closed to the public for two weeks. Democracy Revolutionaries fighting back when the army opened fire on the civilians A Beijing resident shows a slug from an automatic rifle that pierced the window of his apartment. Foreign Journalists covering the massacre got hit by bullets The bodies of dead civilians lie among mangled bicycles near Beijing's Tiananmen Square early June 4, 1989. Tanks and soldiers stormed the area overnight, bringing a violent end to student demonstrations for democratic reform in China. (AP Photo) A blood-covered protester holds a Chinese soldier's helmet following violent clashes with military forces The savagery of the Chinese government’s attack shocked both its allies and Cold War enemies. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared that he was saddened by the events in China. He said he hoped that the government would adopt his own domestic reform program and begin to democratize the Chinese political system. In the United States, editorialists and members of Congress denounced the Tiananmen Square massacre and pressed for President George Bush to punish the Chinese government. A little more than three weeks later, the U.S. Congress voted to impose economic sanctions against the People’s Republic of China in response to the brutal violation of human rights. Tank man : The symbol of hope and strength The army on the 5th June had complete control of the Beijing. But the world witnessed a staggering act of defiance - the unarmed man blocking a column of tanks as they moved along Chang'an Avenue towards Tiananmen Square. Have a look at the video of the Tank Man and his act of Defiance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeFzeNAHEhU The Tank Man To this day, who he was and what happened with him remains a mystery.. Area cleared after the brutal Tiananmen Square Massacre Tanks guard a strategic avenue leading to Tiananmen Square on June 6 after protesters had been cleared from the area. On the 9th June 1989, China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping appears for the first time since the brutal crackdown. In a speech to military officers he praises their efforts, and blames the turmoil on counter-revolutionaries who wanted nothing less than to overthrow communism. Although the democratic movement was brutally suppressed and the students were forced to leave Tiananmen Square, the spirit of 1989 lives on in the hearts of the people. The students will forever be remembered as heroes. Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/china/tiananmen-square https://www.history.com/news/who-was-the-tank-man-of-tiananmen-square?li_source=LI&li_medium=m2m-rcw-history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests_and_massacre https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-27404764 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/timeline-tiananmen-square/ https://www.youtube.com/user/CNN https://www.villagevoice.com/2019/08/20/tiananmen-square-the-mourning-after/ https://multimedia.scmp.com/tiananmen/ https://graphics.latimes.com/tiananmen-pages/ https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Party-celebrates-reformist-Hu-Yaobang,-but-no-reversal-on-official-condemnation-35895.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/china/stories/tianeye060499.htm https://thehub.rferl.org/a/china-tiananmen-democracy-movement-politics/30652007/p2.html Image Credits : Getty Images, Pinterest, Google Images