“The government has never accepted responsibility for the massacre or held any officials legally accountable for the killings. It has been unwilling to investigate the events or release data on those who were killed, injured, forcibly disappeared, or imprisoned.
– Human Rights Watch
The Tank Man (full documentary) – FRONTLINE – 1:25:55
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April 15, 1989
“Former Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang, a leading reformist, dies of a heart attack aged 73. Mourners begin to gather in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. They are expressing their sadness, but also their dissatisfaction with the pace of reform in China”. – BBC
“The demonstration became a forum to protest corruption and inflation, and call for broader political and economic reforms to build on the reforms that had already transformed China considerably in the post-Mao era.” – Office of the Historian.gov
April 21
“At 10:00pm on April 21, more than 40,000 students from nearly 20 institutions of higher education in Beijing held flags and banners, and chanted slogans such as “Down with Bureaucracy”, “The News Must Tell the Truth”, “Long Live Democracy” and “Oppose Dictatorship”, as they proceeded to Tiananmen Square.” – 8964 Museum
April 22, 1989
“BEIJING — Tens of thousands of students demonstrated for democracy and clashed briefly with police on the doorstep of China’s parliament Saturday as senior leaders attended the funeral of the man whose death spawned a week of protests against the communist government.” – UPI
April 24, 1989
“Large numbers of students rallied at campuses throughout Beijing as the government urged an end to turmoil following huge pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing and a weekend of rioting in two provincial cities.” – UPI
April 26, 1989
“On April 26, People’s Daily published an editorial titled ‘We Must Take a Clear-Cut Stand Against Disturbances.’ … The editorial classified the mourning events for Hu Yaobang and the protests by students and members of the general public over the previous few days as ‘serious incidents of beating, smashing, looting, and burning,’ and as turmoil ‘incited by a very small number of people with ulterior motives.’” – 8964 Museum
April 27, 1989
“BEIJING — More than 150,000 students and workers swarmed past police and army barricades to march into and occupy Beijing’s central Tiananmen Square Thursday in bold defiance of a government ban on pro-democracy demonstrations.” – UPI
May 4, 1989
“On May 4, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, more than 100,000 students from 130 institutions of higher education in 30 cities (including Beijing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Kunming, and Nanjing) held marches of unprecedented scale.” – 8964 Museum
“Demonstrations by some students in Beijing and some other cities are still continuing. However, I am convinced that the situation will gradually calm down and there will be no major turmoil in China. I have full confidence in this.” – Zhao Ziyang – 8964 Museum
May 13, 1989
On the afternoon of May 13, the Peking University hunger strike delegation left the school’s gate, then proceeded to Beijing Normal University to join the hunger striking students from other institutions of higher education. The students shouted slogans such as “It’s not turmoil, vindication now!” and “We demand equal dialog!” along the way.” – 8964 Museum
May 15, 1989
“The protests presented an embarrassing pickle for the Chinese government during a visit from the Soviet Union’s Mikhail Gorbachev, the first visit from a leader of China’s communist peer in 30 years. The Chinese had scheduled a state banquet in the Great Hall of the People at the edge of the Square in May, as the protests raged. Gorbachev ended up having to go through the back door.” – Time
May 19, 1989
Zhao Ziyang, accompanied by Wen Jiabao, went to the Square to visit the students on hunger strike. Standing in the midst of the students, Zhao Ziyang picked up a megaphone and said to the students, “Students, we came too late. I am sorry, students. For you to talk about us, to criticize us, this is as it should be.” – 8964 Museum
May 20, 1989
“BEIJING — China declared martial law in Beijing Saturday and launched a wide crackdown on a massive popular uprising, sending out troops armed with assault rifles. Scattered clashes were reported throughout the city.” – UPI
Night of June 3-4, 1989
“Chinese troops opened fire on students and workers who had been peacefully protesting for political reforms in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Hundreds – possibly thousands – of people were killed, including children and older persons. Tens of thousands more were arrested across China in the suppression that followed.” – Amnesty International
June 5, 1989
“On June 5, a man blocked the forward advance of a People’s Liberation Army tank convoy on Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. According to reports, the man climbed onto the tank, talked to a soldier, and shouted, “Turn around! Stop killing my fellow citizens!” He was then taken away from the scene by three people.” – 8964 Museum
Hu Yaobang: the Death That Sparked a Movement – China Digital Times
Tiananmen Square, 1989: The Declassified History – National Security Archive
The U.S. “Tiananmen Papers” – National Security Archive
Tiananmen Square: What happened in the protests of 1989? – BBC
What Caused the Tiananmen Square Protests? – ThoughtCo.
What really happened in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests – Amnesty International
What international coverage of Tiananmen got wrong – Columbia Journalism Review
Tiananmen Square Demonstrations: Events, Accounts, Participants – Facts and Details
The Army Clears Tiananmen Square – The Pulitzer Prizes
Testimonies of Survivors and Families of Victims of the June Fourth Crackdown – HRIC
Casualty Figures (Heavily Disputed)
“The reported death toll varies, from the Chinese State Council’s official count of around 300 to a student union estimate of 4,000 – South China Morning Post
“The Chinese Red Cross initially reported 2,600, then quickly retracted that figure under intense pressure from the government. The official Chinese government figure is 241 dead, including soldiers, and 7,000 wounded.” – PBS
Tiananmen Square protests killed at least 10,000 people, according to newly released UK documents….Previous estimates of the deaths in the pro-democracy protests ranged from several hundred to more than 1,000.” – BBC
Aftermath
Tiananmen, 15 Years On – Human Rights Watch
World marks 30 years since Tiananmen massacre as China censors all mention – CNN
Silence and heavy security in China and Hong Kong – 35th anniversary – AP
A quiet Tiananmen Square anniversary shows China’s ability to suppress history – AP
Leaked files – China is using AI to erase history of Tiananmen Square massacre – ABC.au