Death of Hu Yaobang

Date: April 15, 1989 • Location: Beijing, China

The death of former Chinese General Secretary Hu Yaobang triggered a series of events that led to the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.

On April 8, 1989, Hu Yaobang, the former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was hospitalized in Beijing due to a sudden heart attack. He died at 7:53 a.m. on April 15 at the age of 73. He was officially commemorated in accordance with the standards for the national leaders of the People's Republic of China, but his death also served as a catalyst for the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests and subsequent massacre.