Tiananmen Square. At the beginning of the seventh week of protests for democratic reforms in Beijing, the Chinese government authorized the army to forcefully disperse the Tiananmen Square demonstrators. By dusk on June 4, Chinese tanks had cleared the square: hundreds of people were killed and thousands of demonstrators and suspected dissidents arrested. The Tiananmen Square protests had begun following the death of Hu Yaobang, a Chinese leader and advocate for reform. Grieving students had gathered in Tiananmen Square, staging an impromptu demonstration in favor of democratic reforms. By May, nearly a million people had gathered in the square. The army was called in to quell the protests, but the demonstrators blocked their advance. The resulting tensions culminated in the brutal crackdown on June 3.
