Did the Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown happen in 1989?

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

Student-led demonstrations began in mid-April 1989 in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square (and spread to other cities), initially mourning the death of reformist official Hu Yaobang and evolving into broader calls for political reform, democracy, free speech, an end to corruption, and other changes. The protests grew to involve hundreds of thousands to over a million people at their peak.[2]

Martial law was declared in Beijing on May 20, 1989. On the night of June 3–4, 1989, the Chinese government ordered the People’s Liberation Army to clear the square and surrounding areas by force. Troops advanced with tanks and live ammunition, resulting in a violent crackdown with significant casualties (estimates of deaths range from hundreds to low thousands, with no single definitive toll; the Chinese government has given lower official figures). This is widely known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre or June Fourth Incident.[3]

These events are extensively documented by contemporary news reports, eyewitness accounts, historical analyses, and organizations such as Amnesty International. The Chinese government continues to heavily censor discussion of the events domestically.