Tiananmen Square Protests and Massacre, 1989

The demonstrations began after the death of Hu Yaobang and expanded into a broad movement led by students, workers and residents demanding political reform, freedom of expression and action against corruption. Tiananmen Square became the symbolic centre of protests that spread to cities across China.

After weeks of negotiation and internal disagreement, the government declared martial law. During the night of 3–4 June, troops and armoured vehicles entered central Beijing, killing an unknown number of civilians and suppressing the movement.

The Dragon’s Tail carries its long account of twentieth-century China to the June Fourth crackdown, using the event to bring the trilogy’s themes of state power, personal witness and political betrayal into the reform era.