Did the Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown happen in 1989?

Yes, the Tiananmen Square protests and the subsequent military crackdown occurred in 1989.[1]

Student-led demonstrations began in mid-April 1989 in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square (triggered by the death of reformist official Hu Yaobang), growing into large-scale protests calling for political reform, anti-corruption measures, free speech, and greater democracy. They involved students, workers, and others, peaking with hundreds of thousands (estimates up to over a million at times) occupying the square and spreading to other cities.[2]

Martial law was declared on May 20, 1989. On the night of June 3–4, 1989, People’s Liberation Army troops advanced with tanks and live ammunition to clear the square and surrounding areas, resulting in a violent crackdown. Hundreds (official Chinese figures around 200–300, including some security forces) to possibly thousands of civilians were killed, with many more injured; exact numbers remain disputed and are not fully transparent due to government censorship.[3]

This is extensively documented in historical records, contemporary news reports (e.g., from 1989), and accounts from organizations like Britannica, BBC, Amnesty International, and others. The Chinese government refers to it as the “June 4th Incident” or a suppressed “counter-revolutionary riot,” while it is widely known internationally as the Tiananmen Square Massacre or crackdown.