Tiananmen Square Massacre

Nothing to see here. Move along.

Black and white photo of Chinese next to their bicycles after being crushed by tanks at Tiananmen Square.

Image of the Tiananmen Square Massacre from the New York Times

The New York Times has an interesting detail I was not aware of:

…top army commanders were summoned to headquarters to pledge their support for the use of military force to quash the protests.

One refused.

In a stunning rebuke to his superiors, Maj. Gen. Xu Qinxian, leader of the mighty 38th Group Army, said the protests were a political problem and should be settled through negotiations, not force, according to new accounts of his actions from researchers who interviewed him.

“I’d rather be beheaded than be a criminal in the eyes of history,” he told Yang Jisheng, a historian.


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