On the evening of April 18, thousands of students in Tian'anmen Square began moving to Xinhua Gate, at the south end of the Zhongnanhai compound (the seat of Chinese Communist Party power). Before the Gate, the students sat in protest. The students reiterated the Seven Demands and continued to chant the slogan "Li Peng, come forth!" However, they were stopped by the guards. At 4:20am on the 19th, the Beijing Municipal Government broadcast an "announcement" on the scene; a large number of military police subsequently forced away the students, creating a scene of complete chaos.

Throughout the morning of the 19th, college students continued to bring wreaths and elegiac couplets to Tian'anmen Square. In the evening of the 19th, nearly 10,000 students and onlookers flocked from Tian'anmen Square to Xinhua Gate. The students stated that "Up to this point, no one from the government has come forward to make a statement." The students repeatedly attempted to break through the police lines but failed; rumors of police violently pushing the students away spread quickly. At 3:45am at Xinhua Gate, public address systems broadcast a notice from the Beijing Municipal Government, warning that "if the minority who deliberately cause incidents and trouble continue to travel stubbornly down that path, they will be responsible for all the consequences." At 4am, Public Security and the Armed Police began to clear the scene. More than 100 people who were stranded in front of Xinhua Gate were forced onto buses. During this period, arguments happened between students and the police; it was rumored that someone shouted the slogan "Down with the Communist Party".

The regime later labeled the student action the "Assault on Xinhua Gate Incident". "The Critical Moment – Li Peng Diaries" says, "This was a dangerous signal. The Zhongnanhai is where the Party Central Committee and the State Council are located; the Xinhua Gate is the ceremonial gate of the country. Even during the ten-year 'Cultural Revolution', when the society was in a state of chaos, no one dared to assault the Xinhua Gate."

References: Zhang Wanshu, "The Big Bang of History: A Complete Record of the June 4th Incident"; "The Critical Moment – Li Peng Diaries"; "[八九天安門事件大事記("Timeline of the 1989 Tian'anmen Square Incident")(Chinese)]" (http://blog.bnn.co/hero/201104/wurenhua/8_1.shtml)