Tiananmen Square Crackdown

Historical Overview

The violent crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests during the night of June 3–4, 1989, marked the bloody end of weeks of peaceful, student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in China. The Chinese leadership deployed the People's Liberation Army and tanks against unarmed demonstrators and civilians in Beijing. The massacre resulted in the deaths of hundreds, according to some estimates thousands, of people.