1989 Tiananmen Square protests 1989 Tiananmen Square protests The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, commonly known in mainland China as the June Fourth Incident (Chinese: , "liùsì shìjiàn"), were student-led demonstrations in Beijing (the capital of the People's Republic of China) in 1989. More broadly, it refers to the popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests during that period, sometimes called the '89 Democracy Movement (Chinese: , "bājiǔ mínyùn"). The protests were forcibly suppressed after Chinese Premier Li Peng declared martial law. In what became known in the West as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, troops with automatic rifles and tanks fired at the demonstrators
1989 Tiananmen Square protests Czechoslovakia and East Germany, among others, supported the Chinese government and denounced the protests. Overseas Chinese students demonstrated in many cities in Europe, America, the Middle East and Asia. On 13 June 1989, the Beijing Public Security Bureau released an order for the arrest of 21 student leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. These 21 most wanted student leaders were part of the Beijing Students Autonomous Federation which had been an instrumental student organization in the Tiananmen Square protests. Prominent leaders such as Wang Dan, Wu'er Kaixi and Chai Ling topped the list. Immediately after the release of the