<P> The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 , commonly known in mainland China as the June Fourth Incident ( 六 四 事件 ) , were student - led demonstrations in Beijing , the capital of the People 's Republic of China , in 1989 . More broadly , it refers to the popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests during that period , sometimes referred to as the ' 89 Democracy Movement ( 八 九 民运 ) . The protests were forcibly suppressed after the government declared martial law . In what became known in the West as the Tiananmen Square Massacre , troops with assault rifles and tanks killed at least several hundred demonstrators trying to block the military 's advance towards Tiananmen Square . The number of civilian deaths has been estimated at anywhere from hundreds to thousands . </P>
<P> The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 , commonly known in mainland China as the June Fourth Incident ( 六 四 事件 ) , were student - led demonstrations in Beijing , the capital of the People 's Republic of China , in 1989 . More broadly , it refers to the popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests during that period , sometimes referred to as the ' 89 Democracy Movement ( 八 九 民运 ) . The protests were forcibly suppressed after the government declared martial law . In what became known in the West as the Tiananmen Square Massacre , troops with assault rifles and tanks killed at least several hundred demonstrators trying to block the military 's advance towards Tiananmen Square . The number of civilian deaths has been estimated at anywhere from hundreds to thousands . </P>
the government 's response to the protest in tiananmen square resulted in
the government 's response to the protest in tiananmen square resulted in
martial law
martial law