Did the Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown happen in 1989?

Yes, the Tiananmen Square protests and the subsequent military crackdown happened in 1989.

Here is a brief timeline of the events that year:

•April 15, 1989: The protests began spontaneously following the death of Hu Yaobang, a former leader of the Chinese Communist Party who had been a symbol of political reform and anti-corruption.

•April–May 1989: Student-led demonstrations grew rapidly in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, attracting workers, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens. The movement called for democratic reforms, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and an end to government corruption. At its peak, the protests drew upwards of one million people.

•May 20, 1989: The Chinese government declared martial law in Beijing.

•June 3–4, 1989: The military crackdown occurred. On the night of June 3 and into the early morning of June 4, the Chinese military (the People's Liberation Army) advanced into central Beijing with tanks and heavily armed troops, opening fire on protesters and bystanders.

Because of these dates, the event is widely known in the Chinese-speaking world as the June Fourth Incident.

Citations (5)

1britannica.comEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
britannica.com
Backs: “Yes, the Tiananmen Square protests and the subsequent military crackdown happened in 1989.”
2wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “Yes, the Tiananmen Square protests and the subsequent military crackdown happened in 1989.”
3pbs.orgNews and mediaquality 0.87
pbs.org
Backs: “Here is a brief timeline of the events that year: April 15, 1989: The protests began spontaneously following the death of Hu Yaobang, a former leader of the Chinese Communist Party who had been a symbol of political reform and anti-corruption.”
4state.govGovernment
state.gov
Backs: “April–May 1989: Student-led demonstrations grew rapidly in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, attracting workers, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens. The movement called for democratic reforms, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and an end to government corruption.”
5amnesty.orgNonprofits and think tanks
amnesty.org
Backs: “The movement called for democratic reforms, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and an end to government corruption. At its peak, the protests drew upwards of one million people.”