Recently, for the first time, a full-length video of the trial of Xu Qinxian, the “rebellious military commander” of the June 4th movement 35 years ago, was exposed on the internet. Those who experienced the student movement back then praised Xu Qinxian for his foresight and courage after watching the video. The fact that the video can now be exposed indicates that there have always been certain conscientious Chinese military personnel. It also shows that the Chinese Communist Party has been condemned by the people and is approaching its reckoning in history.
On November 25th, a video lasting 6 hours, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds was uploaded to Platform X by Wu Renhua, a former teacher at the China University of Political Science and Law, a participant and researcher of the 1989 pro-democracy movement.
The video captured the trial of Major General Xu Qinxian, the former commander of the 38th Army of the Chinese Communist Party, at the Beijing Military Court on March 17, 1990.
In the spring of 1989, the student democracy movement swept through Beijing and the entire country. In May of that year, then Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the CCP, Deng Xiaoping, decided to deploy the military with weapons to suppress the student movement in Beijing. Xu Qinxian, the commander of the 38th Army, refused to comply, citing that the military order was incomplete and illegitimate. Subsequently, Xu Qinxian was relieved of his duties, put under soft detention, detained, arrested, secretly tried, and eventually sentenced to five years in prison.
According to Xu Qinxian’s recollections in the video, on the afternoon of May 18, 1989, he attended a meeting at the Beijing Military District as instructed. At the meeting, three military leaders assigned him the task of bringing the 38th Army into Beijing by May 20 to carry out martial law orders.
He first raised some detailed questions at the meeting and then expressed his dissenting views. He believed that “this mission, unlike combat or disaster relief, carrying weapons and equipment, with good and bad intermingled, and the military and civilians mixed together, how could it be carried out? Whom would they fight?”. “If the mission is executed well, it can bring merit; if not, it could make one a historical criminal.”
Zhou Fengsuo, one of the former leaders of the ’89 movement, told Epoch Times that this video confirms the previous “legend” of General Xu Qinxian’s “defiance.” Previously, due to the lack of first-hand information, some people attempted to discredit Xu Qinxian, claiming that he eventually agreed to carry out the martial law order, “Now it appears that those were malicious lies.”
“Seeing him in court, his upright and stern demeanor, and his rejection when receiving the martial law order from what should have been Beijing Military District political commissar Liu Zhenhua, all of these actions are what a principled and conscientious military person should be capable of,” praised Zhou Fengsuo.
“He was very clear, with no ambiguity, in the face of major issues and principles. His stance was very clear, and his attitude was very resolute.”
In the trial video, Xu Qinxian also recalled saying that such mass incidents should be resolved through “political methods” and should involve the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and the State Council.
Zhou Fengsuo highly praised Xu Qinxian for his “high level of thinking,” stating that his suggestion for the Standing Committee to resolve the crisis and decide on military matters was the earliest, on May 18, 1989.
During the ’89 movement, Zhou Fengsuo, then a physics student at Tsinghua University, was at Tiananmen Square. On May 20th, the CCP announced a martial law in Beijing. Zhou recalled that the students at the square only began demanding dialogue with the higher-ups and recognition from the government that the student movement was peaceful after May 23rd, about a week before the ‘Tiananmen Square Massacre’.
“Xu Qinxian’s suggestions at that time were the earliest, showing tremendous political foresight. It would have been a completely different situation if Zhao Ziyang had such a perspective,” said Zhou. Zhao Ziyang was the then General Secretary of the CCP who sympathized with the students, was dismissed by Deng Xiaoping, and was soft-detained until his death.
Wu Zuolai, a cultural scholar residing in the United States who also participated in the ’89 movement, praised the video as actually eulogizing Xu Qinxian as a true “national hero,” while the Deng Xiaoping group’s imposition of martial law was described as “illegal” and truly “traitorous.”
Based on information collected and released by Wu Renhua in 2019, around the time of June 3, 1989, approximately 19 divisions of the Chinese Communist army, known as the “martial law troop”, with a total force exceeding 200,000, including the 38th Army led by Xu Qinxian, entered Beijing to suppress the student movement.
It is known that apart from Xu Qinxian, other military leaders did not openly defy orders. However, there were sympathetic soldiers within the “martial law troops”. Wu Zuolai recounted that on the night of June 3, 1989, he saw many soldiers on Tiananmen Square who sympathized with the students and did not shoot at them. On other streets of Beijing, some soldiers shot into the air or the ground, not all followed the order to kill.
Zhou Fengsuo also recalled, “At that time, there were quite a few conscientious military personnel like Xu Qinxian; I hosted many who directly expressed support to us on Tiananmen Square, and received many letters, telegrams, etc.”
He mentioned that they realized at that time that the internal opposition to martial law within the military was widespread, including the “Seven Generals’ Petition” led by Zhang Aiping.
“At that time, Beijing, in ’89, one could say that the entire populace, including students, citizens, Communist Party cadres, and military personnel, quite a number shared the same opinion opposing martial law. This was very clear.”
The existence of this precious 6-hour long video, with its high clarity and attention to detail, indicates that within the CCP, there are individuals whose conscience has not been extinguished and who have preserved it. This resilience is crucial, and it symbolizes the impending demise of the CCP, as they lack legitimacy and their crimes will face more exposure and historical reckoning.
Zhou Fengsuo mentioned that the CCP has always been nervous, not daring to discuss “8964” openly and not allowing people to understand the truth. However, the truth cannot be buried. 36 years later, through the trial video of Xu Qinxian, a critical segment of the history of the June 4 crackdown is being revealed.
“I believe there will be many similar valuable materials emerging. The CCP’s attempts to cover up historical truths with lies are futile,” Zhou remarked. “The various lies written by the CCP cannot conceal the blood-stained history.”
He further pointed out that in Communist China, “the ruling party is illegal, relying on violence, and the military is the party’s tool.” “If the military is to avoid disasters like the ’89 massacre, it must be nationalized.”
“36 years ago, the CCP chose the path of slaughtering the people, which completely cut off the internal path of self-improvement for the CCP, leading them on a path of complete antagonism with the people and universal values,” Zhou said. The exposure of Xu Qinxian’s trial video now signifies that “the various backward steps taken by the CCP are being increasingly condemned by more people. I believe this is crucial in bringing the CCP’s end closer, as they lack legitimacy, and their crimes will face more exposure, leading to a historical judgment.”