Wake up（352）

 

Chapter 61 Turmoil

 

352

 

Liu Xiaosheng said: In the shocking May of 1989, as the demonstrations continued to escalate and expand, Deng Xiaoping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, who was finally the top leader of the military, decided to take decisive action. After a series of demonstrations, the hardliners headed by Deng Xiaoping and Li Peng decided to use force to resolve the demonstrations. Many conservatives including Chen Yun, Yang Shangkun and Li Xiannian also supported sending troops.

On May 17, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting at Deng Xiaoping's residence.

At this meeting, Zhao Ziyang's policy of making concessions was criticized by other members. Li Peng and Deng Xiaoping claimed that Zhao Ziyang's reconciliation speech on May 4 made the students no longer fear the Chinese government.

Deng Xiaoping, also supported by other conservatives, warned that if the ongoing protests in Beijing did not subside quickly, it would mean that China would risk experiencing another civil war or the Cultural Revolution.

Deng Xiaoping then stated that martial law should be declared to express the government's position that the protests could not be tolerated to continue. At the same time, in order to prove that martial law worked, he decided to describe the demonstrators as "thugs" of bourgeois liberalization advocates, and alleged that they were behind the scenes Some people try to combat the rule of the current government and further realize their personal ambitions.

On the evening of the same day, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China formulated a plan for martial law in Zhongnanhai. During this period, Zhao Ziyang expressed his intention to resign because he could not implement martial law. At the same time, he was not sure whether the decision on martial law voted by the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was legally binding. .

Afterwards, Hu Qili also expressed that he was not willing to implement martial law, but Li Peng and Yao Yilin both expressed their support for the decision to declare martial law.

Qiao Shi, secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, mentioned that although he opposed the government making further concessions, he himself did not think that imposing martial law was an effective way to solve this problem.

Yang Shangkun and Bo Yibo strongly demanded that the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee must follow Deng Xiaoping's orders. Afterwards, Yang Shangkun used his authority to mobilize troops into the capital, Beijing.

On May 19, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee met with military leaders and veterans of the CCP.

Deng Xiaoping presided over the meeting himself, and stated that imposing martial law was the only option. At this meeting, Deng Xiaoping announced that he "wrongly" selected Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang as his successors, and decided to exclude Zhao Ziyang from the high-level leadership meeting outside.

Deng Xiaoping also vowed to be tough on Zhao Ziyang's supporters, and began a propaganda effort on the matter.

On May 20, the Chinese government officially declared martial law and mobilized at least 30 divisions from five major military regions, including at least 14 of the 24 group armies of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. As many as 250,000 of them were eventually sent to the capital Beijing for deployment, some of which were transported by air and rail to their respective destinations, and the civil aviation authorities in Guangzhou even arranged ordinary air tickets in advance to prepare to transport troops at any time.

In the afternoon of the same day, Yang Shangkun confirmed to his face that Zhou Yibing, the commander of the Beijing Military Region, was in command and had full authority to direct the martial law operation.

However, after the Chinese People's Liberation Army army entered the city, it was blocked by a large number of assembled masses. When the army vehicles were surrounded by a large number of people and prevented from advancing and retreating, the troops could not continue to advance in the suburbs.

The protesters also gave speeches to the soldiers and called on the latter to join their actions. At the same time, the demonstrators also provided the soldiers with food, drinking water and related supplies.

In addition, seven generals Ye Fei, Zhang Aiping, Xiao Ke, Yang Dezhi, Chen Zaidao, Li Jukui, and Song Shilun wrote to the headquarters of the martial law troops and the Central Military Commission, calling on the army not to suppress the masses and suggesting that the army should not be allowed to enter Beijing, emphasizing that "the guns of the People's Liberation Army cannot of the people".

When the troops were unable to advance into the cities, the Chinese government ordered all troops to retreat to bases outside the cities on May 24.

But while the demonstrators' success in forcing the withdrawal of military troops is seen as a sign of a "turnaround" in the protests, the Chinese government continues to mobilize troops across the country in preparation for subsequent operations.

Liu Xiaosheng said: At the same time, the internal division of the student movement has intensified. The protests organized by the students in late May became more and more chaotic due to the absence of a clear leader or consistent activities. The gathering of a large number of people caused serious health problems in the demonstration team.

Hou Dejian suggested that student leaders hold open elections to choose the spokesperson of the student movement, but this was opposed by student groups.

On the other hand, Wang Dan believes that the Chinese government may launch military action to suppress demonstrations in the near future. Therefore, he advocated that students be temporarily withdrawn from Tiananmen Square to the campus and form another related group. However, this suggestion was opposed and advocated to continue to occupy Tiananmen Hardline students in the square objected.

As factional conflicts increased, various factions began to compete for the student broadcasting center in the center of the square, hoping to gain control of the student movement by controlling the loudspeakers.

Various factions also began to send some students to the train station to meet the students who came from all over the country in solidarity, and took the opportunity to draw them into their factions to gain support.

Student groups began to accuse members of other factions of ulterior motives, including colluding with government members and trying to leverage the student movement for personal achievement.

On May 27, nearly 300,000 people in Hong Kong participated in the "Song of Democracy for China" event held at Happy Valley Racecourse. Many Hong Kong celebrities were invited to sing and expressed their support for Beijing students.

The next day, under the leadership of Martin Lee, Szeto Wah and other leaders, 1.5 million people in Hong Kong gathered on Hong Kong Island to launch a large-scale protest march. On the same day, global Chinese parades were also launched around the world.

During this period, governments including the United States and Japan also issued travel warnings against China. Afterwards, newspapers and periodicals in Beijing successively published many articles calling on students to leave Tiananmen Square and end the anti-student movement. Among them, in the article "Tiananmen Square, I cry for you" published in "Beijing Daily" on June 1 Allegedly, the author was disappointed by the internal chaos and disorder of the demonstration movement; but the articles also angered many students who were unwilling to leave Tiananmen Square and began to organize protests. Thousands of students marched on the streets of Beijing on their own to express their Reluctance to evacuate Tiananmen Square.

Then Liu Xiaobo, Zhou Duo, Gao Xin, three intellectuals, and Taiwanese singer Hou Dejian announced the launch of a second hunger strike, hoping to revive the democratic movement.

And because many students gradually feel tired after occupying Tiananmen Square for a long time, the conflict between the moderates and the hardliners among the students gradually subsided and dialogue began.

Later, Liu Xiaobo and others mentioned in their statement that the purpose of the hunger strike was to publicly criticize the government, remind students that their current career is worth fighting for, and encourage students to continue occupying Tiananmen Square to demand continued reform.

On June 1, Li Peng submitted a report "On the Essence of the Unrest" to the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, accusing the demonstrators of being terrorists and counter-revolutionaries. Subsequently, the Ministry of State Security also submitted a report, emphasizing that the bourgeoisie and liberalism have penetrated into all parts of China, and Western concepts have a negative impact on students. The Ministry of Security also believes that the US military intervened in the student movement, hoping to overthrow the current government. The report successfully created a sense of coercion within the Chinese government and justified subsequent military action. At the same time, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee also received a report from the headquarters of the martial law troops, pointing out that the troops had made the necessary preparations to assist in stabilizing the status quo in the capital. Various factors made most members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee accept the necessity and legitimacy of martial law, and also agreed to the solution to the political crisis by clearing the field by force.

On June 2, as the student protest movement intensified, the perception of a military solution to the political crisis at the top was strengthened. On the same day, the high-level meeting was held again, and finally agreed to carry out the clearance to "end the riots and restore order in the capital." They agreed that the clearing of Tiananmen Square should be done as peacefully as possible, but the troops were authorized to use force to do so if the demonstrators were unwilling to cooperate. Domestic newspapers also reported on the same day that the army was deployed in ten key areas in Beijing.

On the evening of June 2, a police jeep accidentally hit four civilians and killed three. This incident caused demonstrators to worry that the army and police were trying to enter Tiananmen Square.

In response, student leaders immediately issued an emergency order calling for barricades at major intersections to prevent troops from entering the city center.

On the morning of June 3, students and residents discovered that a soldier in plainclothes was trying to enter the city with weapons. The student group immediately caught him and returned the weapons to the Beijing police. The students then staged a protest outside the gate of Zhongnanhai, but were chased away by police firing tear gas.

Another group of unarmed troops appeared from the Great Hall of the People and was quickly surrounded by protesters, and several people were injured in the chaos; afterward, the two sides sat down and began to sing songs, and finally the troops retreated back to the Great Hall of the People In the lobby.

At 4:30 p.m. on June 3, Li Peng, Qiao Shi, and Yao Yilin from the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee met with military leaders, Li Ximing, Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chen Xitong, Mayor of Beijing, and Luo Gan, Secretary-General of the State Council, and finally decided on the implementation of martial law. Specific methods. The meeting confirmed that the event was classified as a "counter-revolutionary riot" and that tough measures must be taken decisively to reverse the situation. The meeting decided to take action that day and night, "Comrade Zhou Yibing will command the PLA and the armed police forces to quickly march into Tiananmen Square and resolutely implement the task of martial law." On the night of the clearing, the leaders supervised the implementation in the Great Hall of the People and Zhongnanhai respectively.

On the evening of the 3rd, CCTV and Beijing TV reported that martial law forces would suppress the unrest and warned citizens not to go to Tiananmen Square.