六四 · June Fourth, 1989
Tiananmen Square Memorial · 天安門廣場紀念
Record
From mid-April to early June 1989, students, workers and citizens gathered in Tiananmen Square (天安門廣場) in Beijing to call for political reform, freedom of the press, and accountable government. The movement spread to cities across China.
On the night of 3 June and the morning of 4 June 1989, the People's Liberation Army cleared the square and surrounding streets. Casualty figures are contested. Internal British diplomatic cables released in 2017 cited a contemporary estimate of approximately 10,000 dead; the Chinese Red Cross initially cited 2,600 before retracting; rights groups have catalogued individual deaths in the low thousands. The true number remains unknown because no independent investigation has been permitted.
記錄 · 简体中文
1989年4月至6月初，北京天安門廣場聚集了學生、工人和市民，要求政治 改革、新聞自由與責任政府。運動蔓延至全國各大城市。
1989年6月3日夜至6月4日晨，中國人民解放軍清場。傷亡人數至今仍有爭議。 2017年英國外交檔案公開的一份當時估計約為一萬人；中國紅十字會最初公布 2,600人後撤回；人權團體記錄的個人死亡案例為數千人。由於從未獲准進行 獨立調查，真實數字至今未知。
Tank Man · 坦克人
On 5 June 1989, an unidentified man carrying two shopping bags stood in front of a column of Type 59 tanks on Chang'an Avenue (長安街). He remained in their path while the lead tank manoeuvred to drive around him; he stepped to block it again. He was then led away by bystanders. His identity, fate, and whereabouts have never been confirmed.
Photographed independently by Stuart Franklin (Magnum), Jeff Widener (Associated Press), Charlie Cole (Newsweek), Arthur Tsang Hin Wah (Reuters), and Terril Jones (Associated Press), 5 June 1989. No image is reproduced here.
Goddess of Democracy · 民主女神
On 30 May 1989, students from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (中央美術學院) erected a 10-metre statue of plaster and styrofoam in Tiananmen Square, facing the portrait of Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Gate. The statue was destroyed during the clearing of the square.
Primary-source testimony
- Wuer Kaixi (吾爾開希) — student leader, hunger-strike organiser, televised dialogue with Premier Li Peng, 18 May 1989.
- Chai Ling (柴玲) — chief commander of the student headquarters at the square; later testimony recorded by the documentary The Gate of Heavenly Peace (Hinton & Gordon, 1995).
- Wang Dan (王丹) — student leader, sentenced to four years' imprisonment in 1991 and a further eleven years in 1996; testimony given to the United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
- Tiananmen Mothers (天安門母親) — bereaved-family network founded by Ding Zilin (丁子霖), Professor of Philosophy at People's University, after the killing of her son Jiang Jielian (蔣捷連), aged 17, on the night of 3 June 1989.
References
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office cable from Ambassador Sir Alan Donald, 5 June 1989, released by the UK National Archives in 2017 (FCO 21/4318).
Brook, T. Quelling the People: The Military Suppression of the Beijing Democracy Movement. Oxford University Press, 1992.
Hinton, C. and Gordon, R. The Gate of Heavenly Peace (documentary), Long Bow Group, 1995.
Ding, Z. and Tiananmen Mothers. Annual list of documented victims, updated continuously.
Wuer Kaixi, dialogue with Premier Li Peng, broadcast on China Central Television, 18 May 1989.
In Memoriam · 紀念