In April 1989, Chinese students began protesting on Beijing's Tiananmen Square to demand democratic reforms and an end to corruption. The rallies, sparked by the death of reformist Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang, quickly grew into mass pro-democracy demonstrations. On June 4, 1989, the Chinese military launched a violent crackdown against the protesters. The government has never released an official death toll, but estimates range from the hundreds to the thousands.
PHOTO PACKAGE: A Look Back At The Crackdown On Tiananmen Square 1989
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Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang went to Tiananmen Square to call on the student hunger strikers in the early morning of May 19, 1989. (AP Photo/Xinhua)
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Demonstrators raise their fists and flash victory signs as they stop a military struck on its way to Tiananmen Square shortly after martial law was declared on May 20, 1989.
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A military helicopter drops leaflets ordering protesters to leave Tiananmen Square immediately on May 22.
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Buses are used by sympathizers to Beijing university students occupying Tiananmen Square to secure the city from government troops, May 22, 1989. Streets into and out of the city have been turned into obstacle courses. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)