--- title: Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later | TIME description: Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later canonical: https://time.com/video/zuTzxNSa/ og:title: Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later og:description: Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later og:url: https://time.com/video/zuTzxNSa/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zuTzxNSa/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later twitter:description: Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zuTzxNSa/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later [Watch (HLS stream): Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zuTzxNSa.m3u8) (2:59)  _Published 2014-06-03. Tiananmen: The Legacy 25 Years Later_ --- Jul 27, 2023 4:45 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [30 Years Later, Hong Kong Still Harbors the Spirit of Tiananmen](/video/2jMvaDA8/) ### 30 Years Later, Hong Kong Still Harbors the Spirit of Tiananmen [Tetris Still Taunts: The Game's Legacy 30 Years Later](/video/BgYs7dOM/) ### Tetris Still Taunts: The Game's Legacy 30 Years Later [TIME Explains: Sandy One Year Later](/video/8Z1CXWET/) ### TIME Explains: Sandy One Year Later --- ## Transcript Tiananmen Square is the literal and symbolic heart of the Chinese capital, and since 1949, it has been a symbol of the Chinese Communist Party's rule. In April and May of 1989, the Square became a focal point for a student- led movement that quickly spread to cities across China. As that restless spring wore on, the students were joined by ordinary Chinese, including teachers and workers, fed up with the system. They called for an end to corruption, for rule of law, and for democratic reform. By late May, as many as 1 million people marched in Beijing. Soon after, the authorities declared martial law, as the party's top figures debated whether or not to clear the square, and how. On the night of June 3rd and the morning of June 4th, the People's Liberation Army opened fire on crowds of unarmed civilians, and tanks rolled through central Beijing. At least several hundred were killed, possibly more, and thousands injured. The exact figures may never be known, since much of the evidence was soon destroyed. It has now been 25 years since the killings, but what happened in the Square remains shrouded in silence. Student leaders were forced into exile, or jailed, and the families of the victims denied answers. Every year around June 4th, the government makes a habit of rounding up those who might speak out, who might remember. This year was no different. Over the last few months, dozens of activists, lawyers, and dissidents have disappeared. Ordinary people looking for information about what happened will find their searches come up empty. Within China, you can't search for the word Tiananmen, or for the word tank man, or for June 4th. For this week's issue of Time International, we interviewed four young people, four people born in 1989. None of them learned about the incident in school, and none of them discussed it with their parents, and yet, despite the government's best efforts, the legacy lives on. Every year, June 4th is greeted with silence in mainland China, but activists in Taiwan and Hong Kong gather to light candles and sing songs for those who were killed. [ MUSIC ] Young people at Chinese universities hear about what happened from friends or from bootleg videos that circulate after class. They learn about it when they study abroad or read English language books, and though protests are still dangerous here, many keep the spirit alive through individual activism. Today, Tiananmen Square is a tourist site, a symbol of a strong and resurgent China, but visitors to the Square will be hard- pressed not to notice the number of police trucks, security personnel and spy cameras. 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