The Chinese government’s crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989 came to be symbolized by the iconic image of one man blocking a tank advance.For weeks, students had occupied the space, demanding economic and political reforms until government officials had had enough. They declared martial law and the military moved in. Beginning in the early hours of June 4th, soldiers fired on civilians. Estimates range from a few hundred to several thousand people killed. The movement was successfully suppressed.And so has its memory. 1.4 billion people, that’s a fifth of the world’s population, do not have access to the facts of what happened in Tiananmen Square. Beijing has never shown any remorse or given a clear account of what happened.
