10 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: The Tiananmen Square Incident(Searching for truth)
This sums it up pretty well: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/timeline-tiananmen-square/[1][2]
1: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/timeline-tiananmen-square/
2: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/timeline-tiananmen-square/
Essentially, you've got many days of very organized protests that turn out to be very humiliating for the party elders who start to feel that their power is being threatened so they feel like they can't give in to the demands for reforms while the protests are still in control of the square. The protesters were emboldened by being able to thwart and win over the local soldiers so units from all over China are sent in with no identification with these students and contradictory or incomplete orders. The soldiers have been told not to open fire, but they have also been told that they must clear the square by 6:00 a.m. — with no exceptions or delays. The protesters had excellent relations with the local soldiers so many didn't believe real bullets were being used even when they started hearing gunfire.
Comment by Arnran at 02/02/2025 at 11:06 UTC
-5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Thats too good to be true and that does not explain why soldier being lynched and why protester manage to hijacked apc and pbs does not provide good source and eyewitness on this subject.
After searching a bit, I found that the movement being hijacked by extremist student who use violence to force government to use violence. After that incident happen , the student leader manage to escape the country and most of them manage to get good comfy job which makes you really suspect their intention.
I think this quote from her sum up the entire situation.
Chai Ling: "What we actually are hoping for is bloodshed, the moment when the government is ready to brazenly butcher the people. Only when the Square is awash with blood will the people of China open their eyes. Only then will they really be united. But how can I explain any of this to my fellow students?"
Chai Ling: "And what is truly sad is that some students, and famous well-connected people, are working hard to help the government, to prevent it from taking such measures. For the sake of their selfish interests and their private dealings they are trying to cause our movement to disintegrate and get us out of the Square before the government becomes so desperate that it takes action...."
Cunningham (BBC): "Are you going to stay in the Square yourself?"
Chai Ling: "No."
Cunningham: "Why?"
Chai Ling: "Because my situation is different. My name is on the government's blacklist. I'm not going to be destroyed by this government. I want to live. Anyway, that's how I feel about it. I don't know if people will say I'm selfish. I believe that people have to continue the work I have started. A democracy movement can't succeed with only one person. I hope you don't report what I've just said for the time being, okay?"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai%5C_Ling#The%5C_Gate%5C_of%5C_Heavenly%5C_Peace%5C_documentary[1][2]
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai%5C_Ling#The%5C_Gate%5C_of%5C_Heavenly%5C_Peace%5C_documentary
2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai_Ling#The_Gate_of_Heavenly_Peace_documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcyPJ29PLX4&t=363s[3][4]