Rare footage from trial of Chinese general who defied Tiananmen crackdown order leaked online
A six-hour video of General Xu Qinxian's 1990 court-martial has leaked online, gathering over 1.2 million views on YouTube. Xu, who commanded the People's Liberation Army's 38th Group Army near Beijing, refused the order on 18 May 1989 to deploy troops and impose martial law in the capital during the Tiananmen Square protests. He stated the issue should be resolved politically and did not want to be a "sinner in history."
The footage includes Xu's court testimony and his message to superiors warning that martial law could fail and urging political solutions. Historian Wu Renhua, an expert on the Tiananmen movement, has verified the video's authenticity and received it under conditions keeping the source secret. Xu was punished by expulsion from the Chinese Communist Party, sentenced to five years in prison, lived in exile away from Beijing, and died in 2021 at age 85.
This video offers a rare first-person perspective from the upper echelons of the era and contributes to the narrative of Xu's defiance amid the crackdown that culminated in the 4 June 1989 massacre. Discussion of Tiananmen remains heavily censored within China. Historians note Xu questioned whether the Central Military Commission had authority to issue such orders and advocated that major decisions be debated by the National People's Congress, highlighting the PLA's role as serving the CCP.
The Guardian article also highlights the recent tightening of CCP control over the PLA, including President Xi Jinping's purge of senior military leaders for alleged corruption in recent months.
