Book contents
- June Fourth
- New Approaches to Asian History
- June Fourth
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Part One China’s 1980s
- Part Two The Tiananmen Protests
- Part Three Massacre
- 9 The Beijing Massacre as History
- 10 Authorized Force
- 11 Permission to Open Fire
- 12 Where Bullets Flew
- 13 Inside the Square
- 14 Victims
- 15 The Massacre Continues
- 16 Quiet Reckonings
- 17 Massacre
- Part Four Nationwide
- Part Five The Aftermath
- Further Reading
- Index
- Series page
17 - Massacre
Alternative Paths
from Part Three - Massacre
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 April 2021
Book contents
- June Fourth
- New Approaches to Asian History
- June Fourth
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Part One China’s 1980s
- Part Two The Tiananmen Protests
- Part Three Massacre
- 9 The Beijing Massacre as History
- 10 Authorized Force
- 11 Permission to Open Fire
- 12 Where Bullets Flew
- 13 Inside the Square
- 14 Victims
- 15 The Massacre Continues
- 16 Quiet Reckonings
- 17 Massacre
- Part Four Nationwide
- Part Five The Aftermath
- Further Reading
- Index
- Series page
Summary
There were many alternatives to shooting unarmed civlians in Beijing. Soldiers or police could have used non-deadly force. Leaders could have ignored the protesters and waited them out. More military officials could have followed the lead of General Xu Qinxian, who refused to carry out martial law, or of He Yanran, who passively resisted on June 4, 1989, and allowed soldiers under his command to disperse. The massacre was not inevitable.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- June FourthThe Tiananmen Protests and Beijing Massacre of 1989, pp. 140 - 152Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021