On the night of June 3, 1989, Chinese state security forces opened fire on student-led demonstrators in the area surrounding Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The demonstrators had been in the streets for weeks demanding political and economic reform. The Chinese Communist Party, led by Deng Xiaoping, faced a choice: engage with the protesters and take steps toward liberal reform, or close ranks and clamp down on dissent. Secret reports and minutes from high-level party meetings held during the demonstrations, published in Foreign Affairs in 2001, reveal a stalemate that was resolved only by a directive from the top. Deng opted for a crackdown. By the morning of June 4, Tiananmen Square was cleared of demonstrators. Hundreds were killed, if not more; the precise death toll is still unknown.