Chapter 36: Reassessing Deng Xiaoping: Fifty Percent Merit, Fifty Percent Fault — Four Major Errors in a Lifetime (Part II)

VI. The June Fourth Suppression and the Downfall of Zhao Ziyang

On April 15, 1989, Hu Yaobang passed away. Peking University and Tsinghua University set up memorial halls on their campuses. On the evening of April 17, 3,000 Peking University students marched to Tiananmen Square to mourn Hu Yaobang; nearly 1,000 Tsinghua students joined them. Their demands were: first, to reassess Hu Yaobang’s merits and faults, affirming his advocacy of democracy, freedom, tolerance, and harmony; second, to guarantee freedom of the press and allow the establishment of non-government newspapers; third, to require state officials to disclose their assets and income, and to thoroughly investigate official profiteering.

On April 18, 3,000 students from Peking University, Renmin University, and other institutions staged a sit-in protest to express dissatisfaction, with 6,000 to 7,000 onlookers surrounding them.

On April 22, Hu Yaobang’s state funeral was held. The night before, 100,000 students marched into Tiananmen Square, demanding to pay respects to Hu Yaobang’s remains, to allow student representatives to attend the memorial service, to have the coffin circle the square once, and to let tens of thousands of students escort the hearse. The authorities rejected all student demands, agreeing only to broadcast the memorial service live. Three students knelt on the steps of the Great Hall of the People for over forty minutes, without receiving any response from leaders. The students then prepared to strike classes and left the square chanting: “Peaceful petition, government ignores; inform the whole nation, unified class boycott.”

On April 24, 35 universities in Beijing went on full strike. On April 25, the number increased to 43 universities, with over 60,000 students striking. Shanghai, Tianjin, Xi’an, Nanjing, and other cities responded in succession, demanding: first, dialogue with officials; second, an apology and punishment for perpetrators of the Xinhua Gate incident; third, truthful media reporting on the student movement.

On April 26, Zhao Ziyang departed for a visit to North Korea. On April 23 and April 25, Li Peng met with Deng Xiaoping, who agreed to adopt a hardline stance. On April 26, People’s Daily published the editorial “Take a Clear Stand Against Turmoil,” accusing people with ulterior motives of attempting to overthrow the Communist Party, which enraged students. That evening, cities including Shanghai, Changchun, Tianjin, Hangzhou, and Nanjing held marches protesting the “April 26 Editorial.”

On April 30, Zhao Ziyang returned to Beijing. On May 4, 100,000 students marched in Beijing to commemorate the May Fourth Movement. People’s Daily reporters marched holding banners reading “People’s Daily Belongs to the People” and “One Man Decides, the Whole Nation Suffers.” Zhao Ziyang delivered a speech expressing sympathy with the demonstrations. Students were satisfied with the government’s concessions, and all Beijing universities announced the end of the strike.

On May 11, Wang Dan and Wuer Kaixi stated that “dialogue” was an attempt to lure students into submission and called for changing the characterization of the April 26 Editorial. On May 13, Chai Ling read the “Declaration of Absolute Hunger Strike,” launching a hunger strike protest. 300,000 students gathered in Tiananmen Square. By late May, more than 400 cities across China held assemblies in support.

On May 16, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev visited China. Dai Qing and Hu Qili failed to persuade students to leave Tiananmen Square, forcing the welcoming ceremony to be relocated to Capital Airport. During talks with Gorbachev, Zhao Ziyang stated that Deng Xiaoping was “crucial.” Deng believed this shifted blame onto him, marking the rupture between Deng and Zhao.

On May 18, several million people in Beijing joined demonstrations. Some media reported 3 million participants, while the Beijing Municipal Committee stated 1.2 million. Over 1,000 intellectuals issued the “May 18 Declaration,” signed by Ba Jin, Ji Xianlin, Bing Xin, and others. The People’s Bank contingent chanted “Freeze the accounts of official profiteers,” while the General Administration of Customs contingent shouted “Official profiteering and smuggling—ironclad evidence.” Seven hundred students from the People’s Police University voluntarily maintained order. Television commentary called this “the three freest days for Chinese journalists.” People’s Daily published what it called its “most open” coverage, reporting on a million-person march. More than 400 cities nationwide also saw protests.

On May 18, Li Peng met student representatives, affirming students’ patriotism. Students demanded withdrawal of the April 26 Editorial.

In the early hours of May 19, Zhao Ziyang and Wen Jiabao went to Tiananmen Square to urge students to end the hunger strike. On the same day, Deng Xiaoping met with party elders and military leaders, declaring martial law the only option, stating that “choosing Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang was a mistake,” deciding to isolate Zhao Ziyang, and vowing to deal harshly with Zhao’s supporters.

On May 20, martial law was announced. Five major military regions mobilized 30 divisions, 14 group armies, and 250,000 troops, transported by air and rail. Marshals Ye Fei, Zhang Aiping, Xiao Ke, Yang Dezhi, Chen Zaidao, Li Jukui, and Song Shilun jointly wrote letters urging that the masses not be suppressed and that troops not enter Beijing.

On May 23, another million people marched in Beijing, chanting “Li Peng step down.” On the same day, three young men from Hunan, supporting anti-corruption and political reform, seeking to establish a democratic government, filled twenty eggs with paint and hung a banner reading “Personal dictatorship and personality cult must end,” then splashed paint on Mao Zedong’s portrait. The three were sentenced respectively to 16 years, 20 years, and life imprisonment.

On May 27, 300,000 people in Hong Kong held “Songs of Democracy Dedicated to China.” On May 28, Martin Lee and Szeto Wah led a demonstration of 1.5 million people.

On June 1, Beijing Daily published “Tiananmen, I Weep for You,” pointing out internal disorder among protesters, fatigue from prolonged occupation of the square, and sanitation problems. Liu Xiaobo, Zhou Duo, and Gao Xin led several thousand students in a second hunger strike. On the same day, Li Peng issued “The Nature of the Turmoil,” labeling protesters as terrorists and counterrevolutionaries.

On June 2, troops were deployed to ten key locations in Beijing.

On June 3, Li Peng and others met with military leaders and Beijing’s party secretary and mayor, defining the situation as a “counterrevolutionary riot” and ordering the clearing of the square. That evening, top leaders supervised the operation.

On the night of June 3, troops advanced on all fronts. The 28th, 38th, and 63rd Group Armies advanced from the west; the 15th Airborne Corps, 20th, and 26th Group Armies from the south; the 30th Group Army and the 1st Garrison Division from the east; and the 40th and 64th Group Armies from the north.

At 10:30 p.m., citizens pushed trolleybuses onto the road at Muxidi and set them on fire to block tanks, temporarily halting the troops. Nearby apartment residents also attempted to stop military vehicles. The 38th Group Army opened fire again, causing heavy casualties. Armored vehicles rammed aside the buses. Citizens rebuilt barricades and formed human chains to block the advance. Paratroopers of the 15th Airborne Corps in the south also fired live ammunition at civilians blocking roads. Civilians fought back with sticks and stones and set military vehicles on fire. Heavy casualties occurred amid the chaos.

The troops eventually reached Tiananmen Square and carried out the clearing operation. Several thousand students who remained were forced to withdraw; a small number of casualties occurred during the retreat.

According to a 2014 White House document, the total death toll from the June Fourth suppression was 10,454, with 40,000 injured. British National Archives released in 2017 recorded at least over 10,000 civilian deaths. In 2022, information disclosed online in China stated that the military collected bodies for mass cremation totaling over 32,000 people, including more than 20 soldiers.

For an entire month, The New York Times ran unprecedented full-width front-page headlines daily covering the Tiananmen incident.

Deng Xiaoping attempted to cover up the massacre, calling the Tiananmen incident a “political disturbance” and “a storm in a teacup.” Mobilizing 250,000 troops was comparable to the 300,000 mobilized during the Sino–Vietnamese War. More people were killed in one night than in an entire month of that war, shocking the world.

On the morning of June 5, footage of a lone man blocking advancing tanks stunned the world. On the same day, 200,000 people marched in Macau in protest, half of the city’s population.

Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other cities saw days of continued protests. In Guangzhou, tens of thousands of students occupied Haizhu Bridge for four days, paralyzing city traffic. Troops entered the city on June 8, and the crowds dispersed. In Chengdu, 300 people were killed; troops used grenades, electric shocks, bayonets, and batons against civilians. In Xi’an on June 5 and 6, students and workers jointly set up roadblocks.

On June 5, students in Shanghai marched and set up roadblocks. Worker absenteeism rose sharply, forcing some factories to halt production. Rail and road traffic were paralyzed, preventing tens of thousands from reaching work. The next day, the government sent 6,500 personnel to clear roadblocks. A train from Beijing attempted to force passage, killing six and injuring six. At 10 p.m., 300,000 people gathered on site, burning several train carriages, including nine postal cars, cutting off the Shanghai–Nanjing and Shanghai–Hangzhou railways.

On June 7, universities in Shanghai occupied auditoriums to set up memorial halls for June Fourth victims. Three thousand students left campuses to erect roadblocks. Mayor Zhu Rongji delivered a televised speech, stating he would not consider using the military, but would pursue stability, maintain production, and ensure livelihoods.

On June 5, 20,000 university students in Wuhan blocked the Yangtze River Bridge, cutting traffic; 10,000 students sat on railway tracks, halting the Beijing–Hankou railway. On June 7, over 400 students in Nanjing blocked the Yangtze River Bridge with four vehicles and staged a sit-in.

On June 9, Deng Xiaoping met with martial law commanders, calling fallen soldiers martyrs and claiming demonstrators attempted to overthrow the government and establish a Western-dependent republic.

The Communist Party’s suppression lasted a year and a half. Forty thousand officials were investigated, 30,000 party cadres reassigned, and over 100,000 re-evaluated for political reliability. Zhao Ziyang’s aide Bao Tong was sentenced to seven years in prison; tens of thousands of protesters were imprisoned. Wang Dan was sentenced to four years; Wuer Kaixi fled to Taiwan. Zhao Ziyang was removed from office and placed under house arrest. Hu Qili was dismissed. Jiang Zemin of Shanghai became General Secretary. National politics entered a prolonged downturn.

Throughout the Tiananmen events, the U.S. president remained silent and did not support the million-strong democratic movement, which was the primary reason Deng Xiaoping could wield the “Four Cardinal Principles” so forcefully. Former U.S. Ambassador to China James Lilley (1928–2009) revealed in his memoir that President Bush consistently sided with Deng Xiaoping rather than Congress. On June 23, President Bush wrote to Deng requesting a secret envoy visit. On July 2, Deng met White House National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, during which Deng complained that New China had long been bullied and that Voice of America was the greatest source of rumors.

Had the U.S. president supported the Tiananmen democratic movement from the beginning, Deng Xiaoping would not have dared to carry out such wanton massacre and suppression.

VII. The 1992 Southern Tour

Deng Xiaoping attempted to rescue reform and opening. In 1992, at the age of 88, he undertook a southern inspection tour by special family train. At that time, Deng’s speech was unclear, and his youngest daughter acted as interpreter. After the June Fourth massacre, the country fell silent, reform lost momentum, and even Jiang Zemin could not mobilize action. Only Deng’s personal intervention—traveling through Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and other cities to once again promote reform and opening—slowly revived the process.

VIII. Fifty–Fifty Assessment

Deng Xiaoping committed grave errors without remorse, worse than Empress Dowager Cixi. After provoking the Eight-Nation Alliance, Cixi issued a self-criticism edict that same year, and again in Xi’an, followed by the Late Qing New Policies and constitutional reforms.

Deng Xiaoping also fell short of Communist leader Qu Qiubai. After being captured and imprisoned, Chiang Kai-shek did not require Qu to write a confession and offered him translation work. Qu refused, chose sacrifice, shouted “Long live communism,” and wrote “Superfluous Words,” repenting his participation in Bolshevism. To this day, “Superfluous Words” is read by middle school students as a model essay.

Deng Xiaoping lived to 92. Until death, he showed no remorse, upheld Mao Zedong, and assessed himself as “fifty–fifty,” basically correct. He shifted the party’s focus from class struggle to economic construction and rehabilitated countless wrongful cases, earning major merit. However, the Four Cardinal Principles, the war against Vietnam, the June Fourth massacre, and the purge of Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang constitute four major faults. Deng’s Maoist roots were too deep; he never removed Maoism, leaving its roots behind. Deng Xiaoping–Jiang Zemin–Xi Jinping form a continuous lineage that continues to harm China today, eliminating two potential successors who might have abandoned Maoism: Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang.