The Tiananmen Square protests or the 4th June Incident (as it is called in China) took place in 1989. It was a movement of protest led by students in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China. In Western countries, this event is alternatively called the Tiananmen Square Massacre, due to the violent repression of the demostrations exercised by troops with automatic guns and tanks, that started shooting at the protesters.
Times of changes and unbalances were taking place in China, where a set of reforms had been implemented during the 1980s, aiming to switch the economic model of the country towards a market economy. The students started to question the goverment of the Communist party and claimed for democracy, freedom of press, freedom of speech, accountability, etc. At some point, a group of students organized a hunger strike that was massively supported, and the protests spread to 400 cities within the country. This was the moment in which the goverment decided to use force to supress the threat.
After the massacre, China was punished by the international community through economic sanctions and embargoes. Inside the country, the road towards economic liberalization slowed down, important restrictions on the right of freedom of speech were established, settling a careful control of news coverage within the country (for example, foreign journalists were expelled). The role of police was strengthened and officials who had supported the protests were purged.
