this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2025
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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”.

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[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 87 points 1 day ago (21 children)

Don't worry, I've been told by users that it didn't happen, and that if it did, it wasn't what we saw, and it wasn't that bad, and that, if it was, they deserved it.

[–] Credibly_Human@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

It is really crazy that this weird china apologism is so common here.

Its the type of shit you'd expect to see more on reddit, but instead its on lemmy way more.

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[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 42 points 1 day ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

General Xu was 100% correct. The entire CCP and high ranking PLA officers should have been thrown into a courtroom and sent to prison for murder.

[–] thatradomguy@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Great, now reveal all epstein files without black outs.

[–] helvetpuli@sopuli.xyz 5 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

It turns out they, or many of them anyway, were done with Word.

[–] 87Six@lemmy.zip 2 points 11 hours ago

Well, done POORLY in word. They could've done it right but if you don't know already, magats are idiots

[–] vga@sopuli.xyz 2 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

Not in another 10 years I guess (Epstein crimes apparently happened in 2002-2005)

[–] qaz@lemmy.world 183 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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.

[–] markko@lemmy.world 141 points 1 day ago (3 children)

A much happier ending than I expected.

[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 29 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No kidding. If this happened in North Korea the trial would have lasted 15 minutes and the execution would have been a public spectacle.

[–] axh@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Can't make a public spectacle of something that "never happened".

[–] zqps@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 day ago

You're clearly not well-practiced at doublethink.

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

In Qing Dynasty, the entire family and close relatives would've gotten publicly executed.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yay CCP is slightly less cruel than a medieval monarch

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 5 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Somebody did something to make thing better, we need to do it again

(Xinhai Revolution 2025 Edition)

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 4 points 17 hours ago

Sometimes I day dream how cool free China would actually be

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[–] MehBlah@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago

Time to change some of my challenge responses on some of my equipment to include him as the greatest chinese citizen. I have the standard remember Tiananmen Square response. Always fun to let them port scan and attempt to brute force with those responses.

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