June Fourth Incident

In 1989, the world watch as people rose up and overthrew their dictators. The Cold War was ending and the Berlin Wall fell. Chinese students attempted to democratize China but unlike other movements, theirs was unsuccessful. 

In April, liberal reformer Hu Yaobang died. His death caused students to march to Tiananmen Square to mourn him. Along with mourning him, the students called for government accountability and freedom of speech, among other things. 

The protest caused smaller protests to break out around the country. On May 20, the government declared martial law and sent troops to Beijing. While the government and military prepared to end the protests, the student movement suffered from internal problems such as mini-coups. 

Within the government, military force against the students was justified by claiming that the students were terrorists, that the Americans were intervening in order to overthrow the government and that the students were counterrevolutionaries. 

On the evening of June 4th, the military was authorized to use force and was tasked with clearing Teinanmen Square by 6am on the 5th.  The regiments could use any-means-necessary to clear the protestors. 

As the army made its way to the Square, civilians who were bystanders were killed. The Square was cleared but later on June 5th, people attempted to return. This was when the famous photo of the man standing in front of the tanks occurred.