Video shows Gen Xu Qinxian explaining why he refused to deploy troops to crush 1989 student-led demonstrations
Rare footage of a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) general who defied orders to lead his troops into Tiananmen Square and crush the 1989 student protesters has been leaked online, offering a highly unusual glimpse into the upper echelons of the military at one of the most fraught moments in modern Chinese history.
General Xu Qinxian’s refusal to take his troops from the PLA’s prestigious 38th Group Army, a unit based on the outskirts of Beijing, into the capital has been the stuff of Tiananmen lore for decades.
The six-hour video recording of Gen Xu’s court martial hearing the next year sheds light on the rare act of defiance. In the video, Xu said he refused because he did not want to become “a sinner in history”.
Good man. Too bad China kills good people. It’s a horrible empire.
It seems like all empires are horrible to me. Humans suck, especially when they have power
Literally not an empire. Don’t get your terms mixed!
Did they kill him?
For anyone else that is interested in what came of him:
Xu was expelled from the CCP and sentenced to five years in prison. He lived the rest of his life exiled from Beijing and died in 2021 at the age of 85.
A much happier ending than I expected.
If you’re seeing anti China stories about literally pre Bush times - asks yourself: why?
This is “World News?”. Wtf? No, this is historical shit that belongs in a fucking museum. (Thank you Indiana).
Why are people commenting on China like the last 30+ years hasn’t happened? Does it make us feel good when they are absolutely dunking on us as our incompetent form of governance sends us spiraling to another financial crisis? Seriously. How the fuck is this world news?!
Like, would we be criticizing Germany today if some new photos of the concentration camps were found?
I’m sorry. The fact that we let this shit get posted in “world news” is just pandering to the right wings “war with China” narrative that is completely unjustifiable. Reddit levels of garbage mods.
The discussion isn’t so much what has happened in the past, it’s much more the combination of continued denial and justification of inhumane crimes done in the past by the same regime.
Their continued denial and justification makes the current regime just as complicit in the crimes of their predecessors regardless of their material achievements.
Rare footage of chinese General’s dissent being open and available is very interesting news, at least to me.
Maybe you should unsubscribe from worldnews and subscribe to USAnews (or rather please make that community and not annoy us with USA garbage deluge).
In many ways, you’re mostly criticizing as if this was a malicious attempt to hide current USA events and further USA foreign policy narratives. Not really seeing any USA in the article. And the factual happenings are interesting.
Interesting comparison to Germany. As you may be aware, there was quite a significant change in government structure right around 1945. While yes - if new evidence from that period were to be released, it would indeed reflect poorly on Germany. But everyone would know it’s news from basically another country. Whereas in China nothing has changed when it comes to the structure of the nation. And they sure as hell did not go through a period of national mourning or apology to reflect on past mistakes.
Like, would we be criticizing Germany today if some new photos of the concentration camps were found?
Yes, if it weren’t for the blindingly obvious historical fact you’re blatantly ignoring: Germany admitted to everything it had done and very publically repented for decades.
China has done the exact opposite of that, so until that changes, there should be constant pressure on them.
Where do you get that germany has repented for everything bad that they have done?
I still read news where certain African countries are seeking reparations and damages for the genocides that Nazi Germany committed, but Germany doesn’t accept that it was genocide, but according to experts it was genocide.
