Military Intervention Ordered Against Tiananmen Square Protesters (3 June 1989)

Photo By Erin Thompson | Students from local colleges and universities protesting in Tiananmen Square, 4 May...... read more read more

Photo By Erin Thompson | Students from local colleges and universities protesting in Tiananmen Square, 4 May 1989 (Associated Press)  see less | View Image Page

UNITED STATES

05.29.2023

Story by Erin Thompson 

U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence

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by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian

3 JUNE 1989
On 3 June 1989, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and their paramilitary counterparts known as the People’s Armed Police (PAP) received orders to clear and secure Tiananmen Square. The inevitable clash between pro-democracy protesters and members of the PLA followed almost two months of demonstrations in the square, as witnessed and reported by American military attachés in Beijing.

In the 1980s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Hu Yaobang implemented more liberal practices and policies to counteract corruption in government systems. His haste in approving these policies, which emboldened students to protest restrictive CCP laws, caused elder party members to remove Hu from office in January 1987 (though he was allowed to remain in the Politburo). His successor, Zhao Ziyang, also held liberal political views that ostracized him from older CCP members, but he found many allies among younger party members. Like his predecessor, Zhao’s political views also made him popular with younger citizens and, between 1987–1989, he and his political allies began promoting a grassroots campaign within Beijing’s university student population to urge the party’s conservative factions to act.

On 15 April 1989, Hu Yaobang died at age seventy-three. The same day, Zhao and other party representatives began circulating among the students to better understand public sentiment. On 16 April, using Hu Yaobang’s death and their public expressions of grief as reasons to organize, thousands of students from Beijing University and surrounding areas began massing in Tiananmen Square near the Great Hall of the People, the meeting space for the communist legislative and political sessions. Within a few weeks, protests had spread to more cities, including Shanghai and Hong Kong. By early May, protesters in Beijing numbered in the 100,000s and included students, civilians, journalists, government workers, and elements of the PAP.

The U.S. Defense Attaché Office (DAO) began dispatching intelligence personnel in pairs to collect information on the ground using human intelligence (HUMINT). Assistant Army Attaché Maj. (later Col.) Larry Wortzel was one of these agents. Wortzel had arrived in Beijing a year earlier with Brig. Gen. (later Maj. Gen.) John “Jack” Leide. Leide was then serving as the Defense and Army attaché and senior military advisor to Ambassador James Lilley. According to Wortzel, based on intelligence within the Chinese government and among civilians, the DAO became increasingly aware as early as 6 May the protests could eventually become deadly.

Wortzel became even more certain on 19 May, when Premier Li Peng and Beijing Mayor Chen Xitong declared martial law over the city, while Zhao’s faction continued encouraging more demonstrations. As more PLA troops began appearing around the square, Wortzel encountered two civilians armed with gasoline and ammunition determined to stop PLA troops at any cost. General Leide, who reported directly to the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon, had constant communication with U.S. officials and Ambassador Lilley about the escalating situation and the DAO’s plan for its attaché system as tensions continued to rise.

On 31 May, yet another warning was issued for protesters to disperse from the square by 1 June. Over the next two days, PLA troops attempted to enter the square multiple times but were blocked by demonstrators. The same happened on 3 June 1989, which proved to be the last straw for CCP and military leaders. A final order was issued to all military personnel: PLA troops were to enter Tiananmen Square by one a.m. on 4 June and have it cleared and secured no later than six a.m. They were authorized to use deadly force if opposed by protesters.

// To Be Continued In The Next Issue //

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Thank you to Maj. Gen. Jack Leide (U.S. Army, retired) and Col. Larry Wortzel (U.S. Army, retired) for their contributions to this article.