Today is 37 years since the Tiananmen Massacre
On this day in 1989, the Chinese Communist Party ordered the People's Liberation Army to open fire on its own citizens.
Peaceful pro-democracy students and workers who gathered in Beijing's Tiananmen Square demanding freedom, anti-corruption, and basic human rights were crushed under tanks and gunfire.
The protests began in mid-April 1989, triggered by the death of reformist leader Hu Yaobang. On May 13, students began a hunger strike. Martial law was declared on May 20, but protesters remained peaceful.
In the early hours of June 4, troops advanced with tanks and live ammunition. Soldiers fired on unarmed civilians blocking their path in the streets surrounding the square.
Hundreds to thousands were killed. Thousands more were imprisoned, tortured, or disappeared.
To this day, the Chinese government censors all mention of it, erases it from history books, and threatens anyone who remembers.