Chinese residents check a burning armour

Chinese residents check a burning armoured personnel carrier which was put in on fire by rioters fighting back when the army opened fire on the civilians on June 4, 1989 near Tiananmen Square in Beijing. On the night of 03 and 04 June 1989, Tiananmen Square sheltered the last pro-democracy supporters. A series of pro-democracy protests was sparked by the April 15 death of former communist party leader Hu Yaobang. In a show of force, China leaders vented their fury and frustration on student dissidents and their pro-democracy supporters. Several hundred people have been killed and thousands wounded when soldiers moved on Tiananmen Square during a violent military crackdown ending six weeks of student demonstrations, known as the Beijing Spring movement. According to Amnesty International, five years after the crushing of the Chinese pro-democracy movement, "thousands" of prisoners remained in jail. AFP PHOTO TOMMY CHENG (Photo credit should read TOMMY CHENG/AFP via Getty Images)