Martial Law
Li Peng's government declares martial law in Lhasa after several days of unrest.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1989 in China
Explore 30 historical events and records for China in 1989.
Historical records for China in 1989
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 30 of 30 unique records.
30Unique records
1 of 1Page
13Named events on this page
9Named people on this page
4Places on this page
March
Troop Deployment in Lhasa
Security forces reinforce Lhasa as martial law restrictions take effect.
April
Demonstrations
Students demand the resignations of Deng Xiaoping & Li Peng. Students demand greater democratic freedom
Demonstrations
Students demand the resignations of Deng Xiaoping & Li Peng. Students demand greater democratic freedom
Demonstrations
A crowd of 10,000 gathers at Tiananmen Square
Demonstrations
A crowd of 10,000 gathers at Tiananmen Square
Demonstrations
100,000 defy Government troops by marching through the streets & shouting slogans
Demonstrations
100,000 defy Government troops by marching through the streets & shouting slogans
Death of Hu Yaobang
Death of Hu Yaobang. Death of Hua Yaobang
May
Demonstrations
About 3,000 students begin a hunger strike
Demonstrations
Meets student leaders to negotiate but asks them to withdraw without preconditions
Demonstrations
Appears on Chinese TV & accuses students of being "counter-revolutionaries"
Demonstrations
The Government declares martial law
Demonstrations
Students begin a hunger strike
Martial Law
Calls on the army to defend the revolution
Rebellion of Rebels in Beijing
Signs a petition protesting against the curfew imposed on Beijing
June
Demonstrations
The Government imposes martial law. Pro-democracy demonstrations are crushed in Tiananmen Square
November
Resignation of Li Xiannian
Resigns from power
Other events (month unknown)
Arrest of Han Dongfang
Arrested during the Tiananmen Sqr demonstrations
Demonstrations
Leads the Workers Federation Group
Demonstrations
Orders the troops to crush the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square
Demonstrations
Imposes a curfew on Beijing
Demonstrations
Students celebrate the late leaders liberalism & demand his posthumous rehabilitation
Dismissal
Dismissed from office
Economy of China
Stock markets are opened in Shanghai and Shenzhen
General Secretary
Appointed General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
Martial Law
Does not suppress demonstrations in Shanghai but supports martial law in Beijing
Party Leader
Appointed Party Leader of the Communist Party
Retirement
Retires after increasing centralization following the demonstrations in Tiananmen Sqr
Rule of Hong Kong
John Major meets Qian Qichen to discuss the handover of Hong Kong to China
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.