December 23, 2022
Clear the Square (May 30 – June 4)
May 31, 1989 – Senior citizen joins political discussion with students in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
May 31, 1989 – The Guardian: “Liberty goddess riles leadership”
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/may/31/tiananmen-square-liberty-goddess-archive
May 31, 1989 – New York Times: China arrests 11 protestors, calls copy of Statue of Liberty an insult.
June 1, 1989 – Tourists take photos of Goddess of Democracy in Tiananmen Square.
June 1, 1989 – Young girl gives speech in Tiananmen Square in honor of International Children’s Day.
June 1, 1989 – Every member of China’s Politburo receives official report entitled “On The True Nature of the Turmoil”.
June 1, 1989 – CCP internal Party report: “The longer this drags on, the more it will cost us.”
June 1, 1989 – CCP report: “The turmoil was planned…by a tiny minority who are alllied with hostile forces at home and abroad.”
June 1, 1989 – A second report, from China’s State Security Ministry, blames Tiananmen protests on subversion by the United States.
June 1, 1989 – New York Times: Deng Xiaoping equates protest and chaos; 2,000 protest at Beijing’s Public Security Bureau.
June 1, 1989 – Student protester in Tiananmen Square, amid flags from each university
June 2, 1989 – Four intellectuals, including Liu Xiaobo and pop star Hou Dejian, begin hunger strike in Tiananmen Square.
June 2, 1989 – Appearance of Hou Dejian, who some liken to China’s Bob Dylan, brings huge crowds to Tiananmen Square.
June 2, 1989 – Everyone knew Hou Dejian’s most famous song, “Heirs of the Dragon” and sang it in Tiananmen Square.
June 2, 1989 – Young girl dances to music in Tiananmen Square.
June 2, 1989 – Female soldier joins in the singing with pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
June 2, 1989 – Party elders hold morning meeting with CCP Politburo Standing Committee, decide to clear Tiananmen Square by force.
June 2, 1989 – Deng Xiaoping: “China can accomplish nothing without peace and unity…Stability must take precedence over everything.”
June 2, 1989 – VP Wang Zhen: “Those goddamn bastards! Who do they think they are, trampling on sacred ground like Tiananmen so long?”
June 2, 1989 – VP Wang Zhen: “We should send troops right now to grab those counterrevolutionaries…what’s the PLA for, anyway?”
June 2, 1989 – Deng Xiaoping: “If China falls into turmoil … it’d be worse than the Cultural Revolution…where would human rights be then?”
June 2, 1989 – Li Peng tells Politburo Standing Committee: “the turmoil has been generated by a coalition of foreign and domestic reactionary forces … their goals are to overthrow the Communist Party and subvert the socialist system.”
June 2, 1989 – Deng: “The Western world … has thrown its entire propaganda machine into agitation work [to support] the scum of China”
June 2, 1989 – Bo Yibo: “[The West] think they’re the world’s police. What right do they have to meddle in China’s internal affairs?”
June 2, 1989 – President Yang Shangkun tells Politburo Standing Committee: “I am fully confident that we can clear the Square in a peaceful way.”
June 2, 1989 – Li Xiannian: “Western capitalism really does want to see turmoil in China…[it] still wants to beat socialism in the end”
June 2, 1989 – Deng Xiaoping: “No one can keep China’s reform and opening from going forward…The momentum of reform cannot be stopped.”
June 2, 1989 – Demonstrators burn copies of Beijing Daily to protest anti-student articles.
June 2, 1989 – Students mock government-staged demonstration that day, which portrayed students as US stooges.
June 2, 1989 – New York Times: Political sway of the military is subtly spreading in China.
June 2, 1989 – New York Times: Beijing tightens press restrictions.
June 2, 1989, 11:00pm – Army jeep runs over cyclists at Muxidi (western Beijing); three are killed. Angry crowds gather.
June 3, 1989, 12:00am – Military units in and around Beijing receive orders to move to initial positions for retaking Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 12:30am – Campus loudspeakers alert students that soldiers are deploying across Beijing, direct them to set up roadblocks.
June 3, 1989, 2:00am – Large element of soldiers disguised as “joggers” halted by residents as they try to approach Tiananmen from east.
June 3, 1989, 2:30am – Protesters stop soldiers trying to infiltrate Beijing in disguise (note AK-47 on dashboard).
June 3, 1989, 3:00am – Students surround truck to prevent soldiers from reaching Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 4:00am – Frustrated, confused soldiers are disarmed at roadblocks set up by defiant Beijing residents.
June 3, 1989, 4:00am – Some soldiers are beaten in altercations with defiant Beijing residents blocking their path.
June 3, 1989, 4:00am – Injured soldier is rushed to hospital following violent scuffle with Beijing citizens.
June 3, 1989, 4:00am – Some terrifying moments for soldiers disarmed at roadblock by angry Beijing crowd.
June 3, 1989, 5:00am – Pushing and shoving melee between Beijing residents and soldiers stopped at roadblock
June 3, 1989, 5:00am – Protester addresses corralled soldiers through a megaphone, demanding that they leave.
June 3, 1989, 5:00am – Students lecture surrounded soldiers, urging them to withdraw
June 3, 1989, 5:30am – Beijing resident displays army rifle discovered in vehicle halted at roadblock.
June 3, 1989, 6:00am – Beijing residents gather at Muxidi, where army jeep ran over 3 cyclist the night before.
June 3, 1989, 6:15am – Students display captured army uniforms, hats, and equipment at Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 9:00am – Beijing residents commandeer buses to form roadblocks at major intersections.
June 3, 1989 – New York Times: Beijing residents block army move near city center.
June 3, 1989, 9:00am – Soldiers, blocked and surrounded, abandon plans of reaching Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989 – Students camped in Tiananmen Square, on the final day before the crackdown.
June 3, 1989 – American tourist in student-occupied Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989 – Student-run medical aid station in the center of Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 11:00am – Convoy of troops halted by crowds on outskirts of Beijing.
June 3, 1989, 11:00am – Beijing resident tries to persuade halted truckload of soldiers to turn around and withdraw.
June 3, 1989, 1:00pm – Protesters capture bus full of weapons and munitions at Liubukou, at southwest corner of Zhongnanhai.
June 3, 1989, 1:00pm – Protesters display weapons and munitions seized from bus at Liubukou
June 3, 1989 – This photo of weapons seized at Liubukou later used by govt as proof protesters were armed & dangerous.
June 3, 1989, 1:30pm – Troops emerge from Zhongnanhai leaders’ compound to push back protesters gathered at main gate.
June 3, 1989, 1:30pm – Armed troops are sent to recapture busload of weapons and ammo seized by protesters at Liubukou.
June 3, 1989, 1:30pm – Protesters link hands at heavily guarded entrance to Zhongnanhai leadership compound.
June 3, 1989, 1:45pm – Emotional confrontation outside main gate to Zhongnanhai leadership compound.
June 3, 1989, 2:00pm – Confrontation at main gate to Zhongnanhai leadership compound continues to escalate.
June 3, 1989, 2:30pm – Scene at Liubukou devolves into pitched battle. Soldiers retreat into Zhongnanhai, close gate..
June 3, 1989, 3:00pm – Approx 3000 soldiers surge from Great Hall of the People into street behind it (near Liubukou)
June 3, 1989, 3:00pm – Soldiers behind Great Hall of the People isolate and surround group of student protesters.
June 3, 1989, 3:00pm – Female student is shoved in scrimmage between troops and protesters behind Great Hall of the People.
June 3, 1989, 3:00pm – Blood is shed in shoving match between soldiers and protesters near Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 3:00pm – Man displays soldier’s helmet as trophy of his injuries, just west of Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 3:00pm – Bloodied protester raises his fist in defiance, in street behind Great Hall of the People.
June 3, 1989, 3:30pm – Troops clear the street behind the Great Hall of the People, just west of Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 3:30pm – Injured protester screams at soldiers, just west of Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 3:30pm – Injured protester lies in the cleared street behind the Great Hall of the People.
June 3, 1989, 3:30pm – Injured protester is ushered away from troops to medical aid, just west of Tiananmen Square
June 3, 1989, 3:30pm – Soldiers confront citizens, behind Great Hall of the People.
June 3, 1989, 3:30pm – Another injured protester is carried to safety, west of Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 4:00pm – Senior Party leaders hold emergency meeting in Zhongnanhai to discuss deteriorating situation.
June 3, 1989, 4:00pm – Premier Li Peng: “Late last night a counterrevolutionary riot broke out in Beijing…they were brazen and lawless.”
June 3, 1989, 4:00pm – Beijing mayor Chen Xitong: “The situation has become utterly intolerable … we must take resolute measures at whatever cost.”
June 3, 1989, 4:00pm – Yang Shangkun: “Deng Xiaoping [told me to tell you]: Solve the problem before dawn tomorrow.”
June 3, 1989, 4:00pm – Soldiers from Great Hall of the People find themselves surrounded, in turn, by more protesters.
June 3, 1989, 4:00pm – From hunters to the hunted: soldiers take fright at crowds of protesters closing around them.
June 3, 1989, 4:00pm – Growing numbers of people converge on Tiananmen Square, drawn by rising tension
June 3, 1989, 4:00pm – Party leaders order military operation to clear Tiananmen Square to commence at 9:00pm, to be completed by 6:00am.
June 3, 1989, 4:00pm – President Yang Shangkun: “No bloodshed within Tiananmen Square, period…No one must die in the Square.”
June 3, 1989, 5:00pm – Some protesters on Tiananmen Square begin distributing sticks and other primitive weapons.
June 3, 1989, 5:00pm – Protesters surround large body of troops behind Great Hall of the People, west of Tiananmen Square.
June 3 1989, 5:00pm – Student urges surrounded soldiers to go home, leads them in singing patriotic songs
June 3, 1989, 5:30pm – People cheer as soldiers retreat back into Great Hall of the People, shout “This is our victory!”
June 3, 1989, 5:30pm – Students hold back angry crowds who want to chase retreating soldiers.
June 3, 1989, 5:30pm – Scared soldier peers out bus window at angry crowds gathering in Beijing streets.
June 3, 1989, 5:30pm – Beijing resident begs waiting soldiers not to harm the students in Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 6:00pm – Large crowds gather at Tiananmen, completely blocking traffic.
June 3, 1989, 6:30pm – Beijing government broadcasts TV and radio warning for all citizens to “stay off the streets & away from Tiananmen Square”
June 3, 1989, 8:00pm – Warnings broadcast over Tiananmen Square loudspeakers: “You will fail. You are not behaving in the correct Chinese manner. This is not the West, it is China.”
June 3, 1989, 8:00pm – Warnings broadcast over Tiananmen Square loudspeakers: “You should behave like good Chinese. Go home and save your life.”
June 3, 1989 – Wu’er Kaixi: “Today, every Chinese faces a choice. Chinese history is about to turn a new page.”
June 3, 1989, 8:30pm – Army helicopters circle Chang’an Blvd to inspect conditions on east and west approaches to Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 9:00pm – Military operation to retake Tiananmen begins. US Embassy sends cable reporting major military movement into Beijing.
June 3, 1989, 9:30pm – 38th Group Army meets first barricade at Gongzhufen (west of CCTV HQ), fires tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds
June 3, 1989, 10:10pm – 10,000 Beijing residents form human wall at Beifengwo (west of Muxidi) to block, throw rocks at advancing troops.
June 3, 1989, 10:30pm – Soldiers open fire with live bullets on crowds blocking Beifengwo, who retreat east to Muxidi.
June 3, 1989, 11:00pm – Three armored columns are advancing on Tiananmen from west, south, & north w/ orders to punch through any resistance.
June 3, 1989, 11:00pm – Troops arrive at Muxidi, launch fierce assault on barricades.
June 3, 1989, 10:10pm – 10,000 Beijing residents form human wall at Beifengwo (west of Muxidi) to block, throw rocks at advancing troops.
June 3, 1989, 11:30pm – Beijing residents position buses to block Muxidi, and light them ablaze.
June 3, 1989, 11:30pm – Ring of soldiers surrounds Zhongnanhai leadership compound, threatens anyone who approaches.
June 3, 1989, 11:30pm – US embassy staff reporting weapons fire on western approaches to Tiananmen Square.
June 3, 1989, 11:30pm – First APC reaches northwest corner of Tiananmen, is attacked with firebombs forcing it to retreat.
June 3, 1989, 11:45pm – In brutal fight, Beijing residents repel initial army assault on flaming barricades at Muxidi.
June 4, 1989, 12:00am – Army assaults through Muxidi barricades, many bystanders are killed by stray bullets.
June 4, 1989, 12:00am – BBC’s Kate Adie reports live from the bloody street battle at Muxidi (in western Beijing).
June 4, 1989, 12:00am – Primitively armed civilians do battle with army soldiers along western approach to Tiananmen.
June 4, 1989, 12:00am – Along West Chang’an Ave, buses are turned into ambulances to ferry wounded to hospital.
June 4, 1989, 12:00am – Western journalist is injured in fighting along West Chang’an Ave.
June 4, 1989, 12:30am – Beijing residents hurry to form new barricades along western approach to Tiananmen.
June 4, 1989, 12:30am – Hospitals at Muxidi and Fuxingmen (western Beijing) are flooded with gunshot victims.
June 4, 1989, 12:30am – American Journalist Margaret Herbst: “There was blood everywhere, not just in the emergency room – everywhere.”
June 4, 1989, 12:30am – Journalist Jasper Becker: People’s Hospital near Xidan “looked like an abattoir…300 wounded had come in.”
June 4, 1989, 12:30am – Wounded students and local residents fill the halls of Beijing’s hospitals.
Jun 4, 1989, 1:00am – People gathered in Tiananmen Square listen to crackle of approaching gunfire.
June 4, 1989, 1:00am – Troops advancing along West Chang’an Ave engage in orgy of violence, mowing down anyone showing the least resistance.
June 4, 1989, 1:00am – Amnesty Int’l: “Soldiers were shooting indiscriminately…bullets flying everywhere, dead bodies” on Chang’an.
June 4, 1989, 1:00am – Visiting scholar Lee Feigon: “Troops raked the crowds with stun grenades, automatic weapons, armor-piercing bullets”.
June 4, 1989, 1:00am – Yang Jianli: “an old man screamed at the soldiers, calling them fascists…an officer took out his pistol & shot him”.
June 4, 1989, 1:00am – APC #003, barreling full-speed along East Chang’an, crashes into NE corner of Tiananmen Square.
June 4, 1989, 1:00am – APC #003 is trapped and set alight with firebombs by enraged crowd.
June 4, 1989, 1:00am – BBC reporter John Simpson reports seeing crew of APC #003 try to escape from burning vehicle.
June 4, 1989, 1:00am – Simpson says all 3 crew were seized and literally ripped to pieces by the furious crowd.
June 4, 1989, early morning – Beijing residents celebrate the capture of another armored vehicle amid ongoing battle.
June 4, 1989, 1:30am – Man tries to drag wounded comrade from deserted street near Muxidi.
June 4, 1989, 1:30am – Countless are wounded by merciless gunfire all along western approach to Tiananmen.
June 4, 1989, 1:30am – Beijing Martial Law Command issues announcement of “severe counterrevolutionary riot”.
June 4, 1989, 1:30am – Wounded soldier in Tiananmen Square (possibly a survivor from APC #003).
June 4, 1989, 1:30am – Wounded student is rushed to hospital by cycle rickshaw.
June 4, 1989, 2:00am – Soldiers take up positions surrounding Tiananmen Square on all sides.
June 4, 1989, 2:00am – Soldiers pack steps of History Museum looking onto remaining students in Tiananmen Square.
June 4, 1989, 2:00am – Surrounded, students in Tiananmen Square await their fate.
June 4, 1989, 2:00am – Troops cordon off northeast entrance to Tiananmen, mow down waves of citizens who attempt to approach.
June 4, 1989, 2:00am – Man pinned down by withering machine gun fire on Chang’an Ave in front of Beijing Hotel.
June 4, 1989 – BBC News reports on night’s clashes:
June 4, 1989, 2:00am – Paratroopers enter southwest corner of Square. “Suddenly there was intense firing and bullets flying all over the place.”
June 4, 1989, 2:00am – NBC cameraman Tony Wasserman: “someone gets it in the stomach and someone in the ankle … the crowd grabs some soldiers from the southwest corner again and they beat the shit out of them”.
June 4, 1989, 2:15am – ‘”terrific burst of AK-47 fire lasting several minutes, from the vicinity of Tiananmen Gate”. Crowd flees southward.
June 4, 1989, 2:15am – Jonathan Mirsky says he saw at least one person shot dead under Mao portrait. Then Mirsky himself was beaten by soldiers who broke his arm & knocked out 5 of his teeth.
June 4, 1989, 2:30am – About 3,000 remaining students gather around Monument to People’s Heroes in center of Square.
June 4, 1989, 3:45am – Pop star/hunger striker Hou Dejian tries to negotiate peaceful exit for students from Square.
June 4, 1989, 4:00am – Lights in Tiananmen Square suddenly go out for planned assault, sending students into a panic.
Inscribed on Monument to People’s Heroes: “June 4, 1989, the Chinese people shed blood for democracy. Written at 4 o’clock in the morning.”
June 4, 1989, 4:00am – Platoon leader Liu Guogeng lynched and burnt at Xidan for allegedly shooting 4 bystanders. His body remains hung up in the street the following day.
June 4, 1989, 4:30am – Lights come back on, soldiers advance from Great Hall of the People with bayonets fixed.
June 4, 1989, 4:30am – Soldiers slowly but relentlessly advance on students across Tiananmen Square.
June 4, 1989, 4:30am – Soldiers advance on students in Tiananmen Square, past burning tents.
June 4, 1989, 4:30am – Armored vehicle topples the “Goddess of Democracy” in Tiananmen Square.
Soldiers: “We used iron bars to smash it several times until our hands hurt…the statue’s head had already been shattered beyond recognition.”
June 4, 1989, 4:30am – APCs crush student tents in Tiananmen Square. There appears to be a body at bottom left.
June 4, 1989, 4:30am – There is fierce controversy over whether any students were in tents when APCs ran them over.
June 4, 1989, 4:45am – Infantryman Cui Guozheng is stabbed, lynched, and burned at Chongwenmen intersection.
June 4, 1989, 4:45am – Two foreign witnesses say Cui shot into a crowd, killing an elderly woman, a man, and a small girl.
June 4, 1989, 5:00am – Soldiers herd remaining students off of Monument to People’s Heroes and onto the Square.
June 4, 1989, 5:00am – APC machine gunners keep watch as remaining students are herded out of Tiananmen Square.
June 4, 1989, 5:00am – Truck filled w/armed soldiers watches as remaining students are herded out of Tiananmen Square.
June 4, 1989, 5:15am – Students are herded out of SE corner of Tiananmen Square. A handful shout brave slogans.
June 4, 1989, 5:15am – APCs advance on a holdout group of 200 students reluctant to leave Tiananmen Square.
June 4, 1989, 5:25am – Last of the holdouts are gradually pushed from Tiananmen Square by line of APCs.
June 4, 1989, 5:40am – Tiananmen Square is officially declared “cleared”. Troops shoot their rifles in celebration.
June 4, 1989, 5:40am – Soldiers secure the Monument of People’s Heroes in center of Tiananmen Square.
June 4, 1989, 5:45am – People’s Liberation Army in complete control of Tiananmen Square.
June 4, 1989, 6:00am – Sun rises on burned-out buses used as barricades along West Chang’an Ave.
June 4, 1989, 6:00am – Wreckage from previous night’s battle at Muxidi, in the light of day/
June 4, 1989, 6:00am – Destroyed APCs still burning along western approach to Tiananmen.
June 4, 1989, 6:00am – At Liubukou, tanks attack and run over students who just moments ago left Tiananmen Square.
June 4, 1989, 6:00am – 11 students were run over by tanks and killed at Liubukou, at SW corner of Zhongnanhai.
June 4, 1989, 6:00am – Fang Zheng, a senior at Beijing Sports College, lost both his legs when he was run over by a tank at Liubukou.
You can read Fang Zheng’s full story, in his own words, here:
June 4, 1989, 6:10am – Onlookers gather around the human wreckage crushed by tanks at Liubukou.
June 4, 1989, 6:00am – Smoke rising over the center of Beijing.
June 4, 1989 – Front page of New York Times:
June 4, 1989 – New York Times: Map of the night’s events.
June 4, 1989 – New York Times: “Please tell the world,” students beg.
The Square had been cleared of protesters, but the story was far from over. It continues here, in Part 5: Aftermath.
[…] The story continues here in Part 4: Clear the Square. […]