I asked “What happened at Tiananmen Square?” and this is what it said:

The events at Tiananmen Square in 1989 began as student-led demonstrations in Beijing, initially sparked by mourning for reformist Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang in April. The protests quickly escalated into widespread calls for political and economic reforms, anti-corruption measures, and democratic freedoms (history.state.gov). By late May, the government declared martial law and deployed military forces, but citizens initially blocked troops from entering the city. Protesters occupied the square, erecting the iconic “Goddess of Democracy” statue, while Western media broadcast live coverage of the standoff (britannica.com). By early June, however, Chinese authorities ordered a violent crackdown. Troops and tanks advanced into the square, opening fire on demonstrators and bystanders. Witnesses reported civilians shot in the back or crushed by military vehicles, though the exact death toll remains unknown due to government censorship (amnesty.org.uk). The Chinese Communist Party later suppressed all public discussion of the event, erasing it from official records and education materials. Globally, the crackdown became a symbol of authoritarian repression, while Tiananmen Square itself—originally expanded in the 1950s to showcase Maoist grandeur—remains a politically charged site (wikipedia.org) (bbc.com).