In the June Fourth Incident of 1989, Deng Xiaoping deployed the 38th Army to suppress students in Beijing. At that time, Major General Xu Qinxian, the commander of the 38th Army, refused to sign the deployment order and was secretly sentenced by the authorities. Witness and researcher of the June Fourth Movement, Wu Renhua, today (25th) publicly released for the first time the full video of Xu Qinxian’s trial at the Chinese military court, lasting over 6 hours.
On November 25th, Wu Renhua, a former teacher at China University of Political Science and Law and a witness of the June Fourth Movement, released for the first time on the internet a complete video of the trial of Xu Qinxian, the “rebellious general” of June Fourth, stored on the Internet Archive, with a duration of 6 hours 3 minutes and 44 seconds.
Xu Qinxian’s trial took place on March 17, 1990, at a military court in Beijing.
The video shows that the entire trial was essentially procedural, with the prosecutor vehemently criticizing the June Fourth movement, accusing Xu Qinxian of “openly opposing the decisions of the Party Central Committee”, among other things. Xu Qinxian remained composed throughout. The trial process also exposed many sensitive details of the military’s actions during the “June Fourth” incident.
Beijing veteran media personality, Gao Yu, commented: “However, Qin was detained in cell 203 of Qincheng Prison, along with Yao Wenyuan, Qi Jinghe (Kang Sheng’s secretary), Yang Xiaoming (2nd Department of the General Staff, labor number), four people detained in a corridor, each in solitary confinement, watching TV together at night. Cell 203 has also detained Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, and Bao Tong, each occupying a corridor.”
Many netizens pay tribute to Xu Qinxian:
“General Xu is indeed a hero. Not only did he question the imposition of martial law procedurally, but he also pointed out from a historical and political perspective that this could turn the People’s Liberation Army into historical sinners. This awareness is profound. History has indeed proved General Xu right. The shooting on June Fourth is not only a scar in history but also a turning point. A China with a bright future has turned into a country of despotism, darkness, corruption, and decay.”
“This video material is invaluable! General Xu Qinxian will surely be remembered in history! Thank you, Professor Wu Renhua, for sharing this rare video footage!”
“A true hero! A true soldier!”
“The general has passed away, with a spirit shining through the ages.”
“The signal of releasing this video at this time is very clear.”
“Open court: Involving state secrets… the entire video is worth watching, verifying the history of the past.”
“At this moment, thoughts surge with respect!”
“This absurdity, bad people judging the good.”
“Amazing! How did such confidential content leak out?”
On November 16, Wu Renhua had previously released on an overseas platform the pictures of Xu Qinxian during his trial. At that time, he wrote the following background information:
During the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy movement, during which Xu Qinxian, commander of the 38th Group Army, was hospitalized for treatment at Beijing Military Region General Hospital, witnessing the democratic movement firsthand, understanding the demands of the democratic movement and the popular sentiment. On May 17, 1989, the Beijing Military Region held an operational meeting, announcing an order signed by Central Military Commission Chairman Deng Xiaoping and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Yang Shangkun to deploy troops into Beijing to enforce martial law. (Zhao Ziyang, the first deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission, opposed the deployment of troops to Beijing to suppress the movement and did not sign the order.) Xu Qinxian immediately expressed his refusal to deploy troops to Beijing to enforce martial law.
The 38th Group Army is the main force of the CCP’s military, known as the “Imperial Guard Army” and the “Long Live Army.” Therefore, Xu Qinxian’s refusal to deploy troops to suppress the movement shocked Deng Xiaoping and Yang Shangkun, who then revoked Xu Qinxian’s command position, instructed the General Political Department’s Guard to arrest Xu Qinxian, handed him over to the military court for trial, and sentenced him to five years in prison.
Xu Qinxian served his full sentence at Qincheng Prison in Hebei Province and passed away on January 8, 2021, at the age of 86.