Obedience, Ambiguity, and Punishment: The Chinese Military at Tiananmen Revisited
War on the Rocks • • world
Key Points:
- A recently published six-hour video of the closed trial of Chinese General Xu Qinxian, who hesitated to enforce martial law during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, sheds new light on the complex civil-military relations and decision-making challenges within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
- Xu initially refused the order to deploy the 38th Group Army to Beijing, arguing that political means should resolve the protests and warning of potential historic consequences if military force was used improperly; however, he later complied under pressure, highlighting the ambiguous boundaries of military obedience in China.
- The trial reveals ongoing tensions within the CCP regarding the balance between party control and legal or constitutional authority, as Xu referenced the National People’s Congress in questioning the order,
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