10 Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre give the information about the Tiananmen Square protests, which took place in 1989. The people in China often call the event as June Fourth Incident. In 1989, demonstrations took place in China. They were led by the students. During the period, the students the people to have democratic movement in China. The martial law was applied by Li Peng, the Chinese Premier. He was successful to suppress the protests. The people in the West called the even as Tiananmen Square Massacre. Find out other important facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre below:

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre 1: the military

The military tried to stop the protests of the demonstrators by firing them with automatic rifles and tanks.

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre 2: the death toll

It was estimated that 180 to 10,454 civilians died during the protests. The protests took place after the death of Mao Zedong. It seems that the people were anxious about the future of China due to the social changes as well as the fast development in economy.

Tiananmen Square Massacre Facts

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre 3: the reforms of 1980s

The reforms of 1980s played an important role in influencing the point of view of the people to hold the protests. They challenged the legitimacy of one party political system as well as the market economy, which only gave advantages to a small number of people.

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Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre 4: the common complaints

People mostly complained about the small opportunities to participate in politics. In economy, they grieved at inflation. Moreover, the students were not well prepared to face the new economy in China.

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre 5: what the students wanted?

Actually, the goals of the students were varied when they had the protests. However, most of them wanted to have greater level of freedom for the press and speech. They also wanted to have more accountability as well as democracy in the country. There were 1 million people in the square to protest.

Tiananmen Square Massacre

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre 6: the spread of the protests

The protests gained much attention from the people. It earned supports from many cities in China.

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre 7: political threat

Martial law was applied since the paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and the high profiles leaders in the Communist party believed that the protest was a threat for China.

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre 8: the mass civil unrest

The mass civil unrest took place the day after the mobilization of troops, which suppressed the protesters. The Chinese government was condemned by the international world since they fired the civilian protesters.

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre

Facts about Tiananmen Square Massacre 9: the press

The domestic press was strictly controlled by the Chinese government so that the coverage of the event was low. The foreign journalists were also expelled from China.