June 4th,
2009, marked the 20th anniversary of the military crackdown on student
protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Beginning in
April of 1989, thousands of students and other citizens started
gathering in groups large and small, protesting many issues, centered on
a desire for freedom and democratic reform. By mid-May of 1989,
hundreds of thousands of protesters occupied the square, staging hunger
strikes, and asking for dialogue. Chinese authorities responded with a
declaration of martial law, and sent soldiers and tanks from the
People's Liberation Army, preparing to disperse the crowds. Late on June
3rd, 1989, the tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled into the
square, killing and wounding many, mostly civilians - estimates vary
widely, from several hundred to several thousand dead. The first 17
photos below were taken in 1989, the rest are from this year, as people
remember the events, the ideals, and the fallout from that fateful day. (
32 photos total)
This
file photo taken twenty years ago on June 2, 1989 shows some of the
hundreds of thousands of Chinese gathering around a 10-meter replica of
the Statue of Liberty (center), called the Goddess of Democracy, in
Tiananmen Square demanding democracy despite martial law in Beijing.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters were killed by China's
military on June 3 and 4, 1989, as communist leaders ordered an end to
six weeks of unprecedented democracy protests in the heart of the
Chinese capital. (CATHERINE HENRIETTE/AFP/Getty Images)