The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, commonly known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident or '89 Democracy Movement were student-led popular demonstrations in Beijing which took place in the first half of 1989 and received broad support from city residents, exposing deep splits within China's political leadership. The protests were forcibly suppressed by hardline leaders who ordered the military to enforce martial law in the country's capital.The crackdown that initiated on June 3–4 became known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre or the June 4 Massacre as troops with assault rifles and tanks killed unarmed civilians trying to block the military's advance towards Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing
Twenty-five years ago Wednesday, Chinese troops violently retook the square in Beijing due to the camps set up by Pro-democracy Protesters for weeks. This square place left an unknown number dead, with some estimates in the thousands, and smothered a democratic movement. But After the quarter-century, Chinese Govt. made an attempt to conceal the events that unfolded that June—our collective memory is sometimes limited to not much more than an image of a man defiantly standing in front of a tank.
So we went back in history to pull out some facts and details of those grim days. Here are ten key facts that may have been buried in time:
Ten Tiananmen Square Facts:
10. Tiananmen Square is located in the center of Beijing, the capital of China.9. Tiananmen means "gate of heavenly peace."
8. In 1989, after several weeks of demonstrations, Chinese troops entered Tiananmen Square on June 4 and fired on civilians.
7. The death toll estimation is ranged from several hundred to thousands.
6. It has been believed that nearly a count of 10,000 people was arrested during and after the protests.
5. Several dozen people have been executed for their parts in the demonstrations.
4. The Chinese authorities and Govt. still censor information about the massacre.
3. Soviet Union’s Mikhail Gorbachev entered through the back door.
2. When the military opened fire, a lopsided battle ensued.
1. The Tank Man was and still is anonymous.
Tank Man --VIDEO:
April 15, 1989 - A Former Communist Party Leader, Hu Yaobang died. Hu sacrificed his life to move China toward the open political system and had become the symbol of democratic reform.
April 18, 1989 - Thousands of mourning students march through the capital to Tiananmen Square, calling for a more democratic government. In the weeks that follow, thousands of people join the students in the square to protest against China's Communist rulers.
May 13, 1989 - More than 100 students begin a hunger strike in Tiananmen Square. The number increases to several thousand over the next few days.
May 19, 1989 - A rally at Tiananmen Square draws an estimated 1.2 million people. General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhao Ziyang, appears at the rally and pleads for an end to the demonstrations.
May 19, 1989 - Premier Li Peng imposes martial law.
June 1, 1989 - China halts live American news telecasts in Beijing, including CNN. Also, reporters are prohibited from photographing or videotaping any of the demonstrations or Chinese troops.
June 2, 1989 - A reported 100,000 people attend a concert in Tiananmen Square by singer Hou Dejian, in support of the demonstrators.
June 4, 1989 - At about 1 a.m. Chinese troops reach Tiananmen Square. Throughout the day, Chinese troops fire on civilians and students, ending the demonstrations. An official death toll has never been released.
June 5, 1989 - An unidentified man stands alone in the street, blocking a column of Chinese tanks. He remains there for several minutes before being pulled away by onlookers.
June 5, 1999 - Approximately 70,000 people in Hong Kong take part in a memorial vigil.
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