The document summarizes the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in Beijing, where hundreds of thousands of students and citizens gathered to protest restrictions on political reforms and demand democracy. The protests began after the death of reformist leader Hu Yaobang in April 1989 and culminated in a military crackdown on June 4th that killed hundreds or thousands. Despite the government suppressing information about the event, it symbolized the Chinese people's desire for democracy and had international impacts.