---
title: "Tiananmen Square Pro-Democracy Protest"
year: 1989
country: "China"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1989/tiananmen-square-1989"
slug: "tiananmen-square-1989"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1989-04-15"
endDate: "1989-06-04"
---

# Tiananmen Square Pro-Democracy Protest

> Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students and workers occupied Tiananmen Square demanding democratic reforms before military suppression ended the movement.

In spring 1989, hundreds of thousands of students and workers occupied Beijing's Tiananmen Square to demand democratic reforms and press freedom. On June 4, after seven weeks of standoff, the Chinese government declared martial law and sent tanks and troops into the square, killing an estimated hundreds to thousands of people and crushing the movement in hours.

## Summary

Protests led by students and workers, known in China as the June Fourth Incident, were held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between the demonstrators and the Chinese government to find a peaceful resolution, the Chinese government initiated martial law in late May and deployed troops to occupy the square on the night of 3 June in what is referred to as the Tiananmen Square massacre. The events are sometimes called the '89 Democracy Movement, the Tiananmen Square Incident, or the Tiananmen uprising. The Chinese government terms the events the political turmoil between the spring and summer of 1989.

## Sources

- [Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests of 1989](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests_and_massacre) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1989/tiananmen-square-1989