Tiananmen Square - Events

Events

Tiananmen Square has been the site of a number of political events and student protests.

Perhaps the most notable events are protests during the May Fourth Movement in 1919, the proclamation of the People's Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949, the Tiananmen Square protests in 1976 after the death of premier Zhou Enlai, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, which resulted in military suppression and the deaths of multiple protestors. One of the most famous images that appears during these protests was when a man stands in front of a moving tank and refuses to move. This became a revolutionary icon in fighting against the government at the time.

Other notable events include annual mass military displays on each anniversary of the 1949 proclamation until 1 October 1959; the 1984 military parade for the 35th anniversary of the People's Republic of China which coincided with the ascendancy of Deng Xiaoping; the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre; military displays and parades on the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic in 1999; the Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident in 2001; and military displays and parades on the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic in 2009.

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Famous quotes containing the word events:

    One cannot be a good historian of the outward, visible world without giving some thought to the hidden, private life of ordinary people; and on the other hand one cannot be a good historian of this inner life without taking into account outward events where these are relevant. They are two orders of fact which reflect each other, which are always linked and which sometimes provoke each other.
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