Somebody Is Tweeting A Minute-By-Minute Account Of Tiananmen Square, And It's Gripping
An expert on China is tweeting an absolutely gripping, minute-by-minute account of the bloody Tiananmen Square protests that erupted 25 years ago in the heart of Beijing.
The pro-democracy protests, led mostly by unarmed students, lasted weeks but came to a head on June 3 and June 4 of 1989. on June 4, Chinese troops fired at civilians, killing more than 1,000, according to some estimates. Many others were injured, arrested, or even executed for taking part in the demonstrations.
Now that it's technically June 4 in China, international affairs expert and professor Patrick Chovanec is "live-tweeting" the events of 25 years ago. Here are some of his recent tweets. Visit his Twitter feed to see the entire minute-by-minute account.
June 4, 1989, 4:30am - There is fierce controversy over whether any students were in tents when APCs ran them over pic.twitter.com/PNyVUYafEB
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) June 3, 2014
June 4, 1989, 4:30am - Armored vehicle topples the "Goddess of Democracy"
in Tiananmen Square
June 4, 1989, 4:30am - APCs crush student tents in Tiananmen Square. There appears
to be a body at bottom left.
June 4, 1989, 4:45am - Infantryman Cui Guozheng is stabbed, lynched, and burned
at Chongwenmen intersection
June 4, 1989, 4:45am - 2 foreign witnesses say Cui shot into a
crowd, killing an elderly woman, a man, & 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
The protests began in April of 1989, after the death of ousted General Secretary Hu Yaobang.
AP
Chinese police try in vain to contain a huge crowd of student marchers during a pro-reform demonstration in Beijing, China, May 4 1989. (AP Photo/S. Mikami)
Many saw Hu as a reformer. He had the support of students, who wanted the Chinese government to continue his pro-market and pro-democracy policies.
AP
A truck is almost buried in people as it makes its way through the crowd of thousands gathered in Tiananmen Square for a pro-democracy rally, Wednesday, May 17, 1989, Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami)
Following Hu's official state funeral, some 100,000 students gathered in the Beijing's central square.
AP
Beijing university students wave fists and flags as five Chinese military helicopters buss Tiananmen Square at down Sunday, May 21 1989. (AP Photo/stf)
An anti-protest editorial in People's Daily on April 26 enraged the students further.
AP
Unidentified Beijing University students, who have been on a five day hunger strike for democracy, take an early morning break in Tiananmen Square, Thursday, May 18, 1989, Beijing, China. The students have been joined by thousands of workers, soldiers and doctors in their demand for political reform. (AP Photo/Kathy Wilhelm)
By May 13, a hunger strike had begun and the crowd had grown to 300,000 people.
AP
Unidentified Beijing University students catch a nap on cases of soft drinks in Tiananmen Square, Friday, May, 19, 1989, Beijing, China. They are in their sixth day of a hunger strike for political reform. (AP Photo/Kathy Wilhelm)
Martial Law was declared on May 20.
AP
Beijing University students rally in Tiananmen Square where they have camped for a week to push for political reforms, Saturday, May 20, 1989, Beijing, China. The government declared martial law on Saturday in an effort to end the occupation. (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami)
The People's Liberation Army (China's military) marched on Beijing, only to withdraw a few days later. Protestors would lecture the soldiers, asking them to join their cause.
AP
A Beijing University student reads list of goals in their occupation of Tiananmen Square to Peoples Liberation Army troops, Saturday, May 20, 1989, Beijing, China. The troops, enroute to the square, were turned back by the crowds. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)
The student protest became split around this time, with no clear leader.
AP
A Chinese military helicopter passes over Tiananmen Square and demonstrating students following the declaration of martial law, Saturday, May 20, 1989, Beijing, China. Students have occupied the square for a week seeking political reform. (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami)
But the students and their supporters were clearly occupying Beijing's central square.
AP
Beijing University students listen as a strike spokesman details plans for a rally in Tiananmen Square, which they have occupied for the last two weeks, Sunday, May 28, 1989, Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Jeff Widener)
They even unloaded a 30-foot styrofoam statue, modeled on the Statue of Liberty, in the square.
AP
A statue modelled after the Statiue of Liberty is ready for unveiling in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, May 30, 1989. The 30-foot styrofoam statue was erected by striking university students. In the background is the Great hall. (AP photo/Shing)
Protestors mocked government "bribes" for pro-government marches.
AP
A masked protester from Beijing University leads chants making fun of the government's offer of money and a loaf of bread to people willing to march in a pro-government rally, Friday, June 2, 1989, Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)
Troops began clearing the square at the start of June.
AP
A student pro-democracy protester flashes victory signs to the crowd as People's Liberation Army troops withdraw on the west side of the Great Hall of the People near Tiananmen Square on Saturday, June 3, 1989 in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)
Protestors resisted.
AP Photo/Jeff Widener
A young woman is caught between civilians and Chinese soldiers, who were trying to remove her from an assembly near the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, June 3, 1989.
Most were unarmed but some had rocks and other weapons.
AP Photo/Jeff Widener
Civilians hold rocks as they stand on a government armored vehicle near Chang'an Boulevard in Beijing, early June 4, 1989.
Violence erupted.
AP
A student protester puts barricades in the path of an already burning armored personnel carrier that rammed through student lines during an army attack on anti-government demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, early June 4, 1989. A govenment soldier who escaped the armored vehicle was killed by demonstrators. Pro-democracy protesters occupied the square for seven weeks; hundreds died in the early hours of June 4, 1989 when troops shot their way through Beijing's streets to retake the square. (AP Photo/Jeff Widener)
Officially, 241 people died.
AP
The bodies of dead civilians lie among mangled bicycles near Beijing's Tiananmen Square in this June 4, 1989 file photo.
(Source: PBS)
Other numbers, ranging into the thousands, have circulated, with none confirmed. Many of the deaths happened outside the square, with soldiers firing directly at unarmed protesters.
AP
A ceremony of PIA troops march down Chanan Blvd. firing indiscriminately to clear the street of citizens as the army faction occupying the center of Beijing prepares for the rumored arrival of opposition troops converging on the city, June 5, 1989, Beijing, China. (AP Photo)
(Source: PBS)
Many more were injured.
REUTERS/Shunsuke Akatsuka
A blood-covered protester holds a Chinese soldier's helmet following violent clashes with military forces during the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in this June 4, 1989 file photo.
The iconic footage of a man standing up to a PLA tank occurred the next day.
AP
A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing's Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man, calling for an end to the recent violence and bloodshed against pro-democracy demonstrators, was pulled away by bystanders, and the tanks continued on their way. The Chinese government crushed a student-led demonstration for democratic reform and against government corruption, killing hundreds, or perhaps thousands of demonstrators in the strongest anti-government protest since the 1949 revolution. Ironically, the name Tiananmen means "Gate of Heavenly Peace". (AP Photo/Jeff Widener)
This shot shows the man from another angle. He was reportedly whisked aside by onlookers, but it was unclear what became of him or who he was.
AP
In this photo taken on June 5, 1989 and made available for the first time by the AP on Thursday June 4, 2009, three unidentified men flee the scene, as a Chinese man, background left, stands alone to block a line of approaching tanks, background right, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
(Source: PBS)
Tens of thousands of people were arrested after the protests, and an unknown number were likely executed.
AP
Crowds of curious Beijing residents gather to look at the military hardware in Tiananmen Square Wednesday, June 7, 1989 in Beijing. (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami)
(Source: PBS)
Officially China still tries to ignore the legacy of the event, with searches on the popular Chinese microblogging site Weibo banned today.
AP
A student is carried away from Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, June 8 1989 , following a clash with Chinese army troops. (AP photo/Liu Heung Shing)
(Source: BI)
On Friday, five Chinese dissidents testified before U.S. lawmakers about the horror of seeing friends shot dead 25 years ago.
AP
Chinese soldiers clean up the debris from several days of rioting against material law in the streets, Friday, June 9, 1989, Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami)
(Source: USA Today)
Other Chinese people remember the massacre as it was filtered through the country's state-run TV stations.
AP
Bicyclists peddle through the ruins of the last weeks battle between the Peoples Liberation Army and students demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square, June 10, 1989, Beijing, China. This scene is located some three miles from the square. (AP Photo/Jeff Widener)
(Source: New York Times)
The novelist Murong Xuecun recently wrote that China's president President Xi Jinping may be more paranoid than those who came before him.
AP
Beijing residents have something new to look at as they commute to work Monday, June 12, 1989 past a PLA tank near Tiananmen Square, Beijng. (AP Photo/Sakayuki Mikami)
(Source: New York Times)
Despite the paranoia on mainland China, there are still relatively robust protests in Hong Kong. "We will never forget the Tiananmen massacre, because until now there's been no justice," one woman reportedly said while marching through Hong Kong.
Tiananmen Square Protests
Protesters wearing headbands with a slogan reading "Denounce butcher regime" attend a candlelight vigil outside the Chinese liaison office in Hong Kong Tuesday, June 3, 2014, to mark the 25th anniversary of China's crackdown on pro-democracy protests on Tiananmen Square on June 4.
(Source: ABC Radio)
Now check out all the words vaguely related to Tiananmen Square.
AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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