1. Tiananmen Square

2. What happened Demonstrators gathered around the “Goddess of Democracy” statue in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. There were many university students and others in China who wanted political and economic reform. There was a lot of price inflation and corruption by government officials. Student-led demonstrations calling for more individual rights and freedoms.

3. The death of Hu in the spring of 1989 started the chain of events. Hu became a martyr for the cause of political liberalization. On April 22, which was the day of Hu’s funeral, tens of thousands of students gathered in Tiananmen Square. The students demanded democratic and other reforms.

4. Over the next several weeks: Crowds of students gathered in Tiananmen Square. They were seeking political, social, and economic reform. Initially the government issued warnings without taking any action against the crowds.

5. Tiananmen Square incident Zhao Ziyang addressed the demonstrators offering concessions. Li Peng and Deng Xiaoping both feared anarchy, so they insisted on forcibly suppressing the protests. Martial law was declared in Beijing, and army troops started going around the city. Beijing citizens flooded the streets to block the soldiers. The protesters remained in large numbers in Tiananmen Square.

6. June 3-4: The massacre. The Chinese government arrested thousands of suspected dissidents. Many received prison sentences of different lengths of time, and many were executed.