1989 Tiananmen Square Incident: Chinese Students’ Debate for Democracy
Military Crackdown
“Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent.”
–Mao Zedong
Chinese troops and tanks gather in Beijing on the day after the crackdown began. Credit: Jeff Widener/AP
On the night of June 3, the Chinese government sent tens of thousands of armed troops and hundreds of armored vehicles to Tiananmen Square intending to “restore order” to the capital. After multiple warnings that went ignored, they approached the protesters and onlookers and started shooting.
A student protester puts barricades in the path of an already-burning armored vehicle. A soldier who escaped the vehicle was killed by demonstrators. Credit: Jeff Widener/AP
“The troops are by no means targeted at the students. Under no circumstances will [the troops] harm innocent people, let alone young students.” Credit: Official New China News Agency, May 1, 1989
A young woman is caught between civilians and Chinese soldiers who were trying to remove her from an assembly near the Great Hall of the People on June 3, 1989. Credit: Jeff Widener/AP
“In spring 1989... I saw the buildup of demonstrations from Chengdu to Tiananmen Square. It struck me that fear had been forgotten to such an extent that few of the millions of demonstrators perceived danger. Most seemed to be taken by surprise when the army opened fire.”
–Jung Chang
Some running away were shot in the back, while a few others were crushed to death by the tanks. Attempts to count the bodies were disrupted by soldiers bagging them before they could be counted. The death toll will never be known, but it has been estimated to be several hundred to many thousand dead. The Chinese government itself says 200 civilians and several dozen military personnel died.
“The first casualty in the square was rushed away— a girl with her face smashed and bloody, carried spread-eagled towards the trees. Another followed— a youth with a bloody mess around his chest.”
–John Gittings, The Guardian
Man vs. Chinese tank Tiananmen square - June 5, 1989. Credit: CNN