Tiananmen Square 20th anniversary

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 culminating in the Tiananmen Square massacre, where an estimated 5000 people died, were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China (PRC) beginning on April 14. Led mainly by students and intellectuals, the protests occurred in a year that saw the collapse of a number of communist governments around the world.

The protests were sparked by the death of pro-market, pro-democracy and anti-corruption official, Hu Yaobang, whom protesters wanted to mourn. By the eve of Hu's funeral, 1,000,000 people had gathered on the Tiananmen square.

The movement lasted seven weeks from Hu's death on 15 April until tanks cleared Tiananmen Square on 4 June.