10/14/2010
A Brief Chronology of Events at Tianan…
A Brief Chronology of Events at Tiananmen Square (1989)
15 April
Hu Yaobang, former General Secretary of the Communist Party and well known reformer, dies. Posters begin to appear mourning his death.
19 April
Students march to Zhongnanhai, where the government leaders live, to have a sit-in demonstration. Students and police clash.
22 April
Funeral for Hu Yaobang.
26 April
Demonstrations continue, but the official newspaper, People's Daily, says the protests are just an "organized conspiracy to sow chaos." More than 150,000 angry students break through police lines and return to Tiananmen Square.
4 May 13 May 17-18 May
100,000 students protest. Frustrated by the lack of official response to their demands, more than 1,000 students launch a hunger strike. Close to 1 million people march to the Square to support the hunger strike.
19 May
Students and citizens prevent troops from entering Tiananmen Square.
30 May
The "Goddess of Democracy" is erected in the Square.
2 June
PLA (People's Liberation Army) troops with tanks and armored personnel carriers enter Beijing to clear the Square.
3 June
Scattered shooting in the streets of Beijing; hundreds killed.
4 June
During the early morning hours, troops clear Tiananmen Square.
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