On This Day — June 4, 1989:
- 1:00 a.m. The troops have blocked off all approaches to Tiananmen Square. Various people who witnessed the killings of civilians report to the BWAF and to the students’ Command Headquarters, urging them to withdraw.
- 2:00 a.m. The first troop transport trucks enter the square. Chai Ling and Li Lu call on those remaining on the square to gather around the Monument to the People’s Heroes.
- 3:00 a.m. Hou Dejian and Zhou Duo negotiate with army officials to give the students time to vacate the square. Withdrawal will be unconditional, officials reply, adding that it must take place before daybreak. They indicate the southeast as the safest way to exit.
- 4:00 a.m. On the square the lights go off. The statue of the Goddess of Democracy is toppled by a tank.
- 4:30 a.m. The tanks and the troops stationed in the north corner of the Square begin to move forward. Students vote and eventually agree to leave. The soldiers shoot out the students’ loud speakers. Led by the Command Headquarters, the students walk away from the Monument to the People’s Heroes toward the southeast part of the square. A row of armored vehicles moves slowly toward the monument. Other troops arrive from the west, squeezing the crowd. As the students leave, army tanks crush tents on their way. The student guards are the last to leave, with soldiers about 18 feet behind them firing warning shots.
- 5:00 a.m. As the students pass Qianmen, residents line the streets and applaud. The army throws tear gas and shoots at students and citizens near the square and in other areas of the capital. Some people are crushed under tanks. The number of victims is not known.
- 6:20 a.m. Tanks crush retreating students.
China rises but 30 years after Tiananmen, crackdown remains taboo
Al Jazeera, June 4, 2019
Related:
HRIC’s “Unforgotten” project: profiles of June Fourth Victims
‐ Project subsite homepage
‐ HRIC statement
‐ Profiles of the “Unforgotten”
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30 years after Tiananmen, “Tank Man” remains an icon and a mystery
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