🧵TIAN'ANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE: THE WEST'S MOST PERVASIVE LIE
What is the true story of the events that unfolded during the 1989 Tian'anmen Square protests ?
How China thwarted a color revolution attempt from the West ?
1/
What is the true story of the events that unfolded during the 1989 Tian'anmen Square protests ?
How China thwarted a color revolution attempt from the West ?
1/
How the West managed to manufacture the 'lie-of-the-century' that the Chinese army crackdown on the protests killed at least 10,000 people in a massacre ?
Let's start with a brief historical review.
2/
Let's start with a brief historical review.
2/
In the year 1987, in a post-cultural revolution era, many students began protesting in their universities; their message was clear: 'Further the Reforms'.
The terminology ‘further the reforms’ seems like it gives credence to a call for ‘Freedom and Democracy!’.
3/
The terminology ‘further the reforms’ seems like it gives credence to a call for ‘Freedom and Democracy!’.
3/
However, as opposed to as presented by the West, many of the students in 1987 were calling for further SOCIAL reforms, rather than radical economic or political reform. One example could be holding hands with someone who you were dating on campus in university.
4/
4/
Something which was literally forbidden. Many social norms were still very conservative, and based in Chinese culture. Much of the urge for reform was more toward liberalising the society, rather than the economy or government.
5/
5/
Following the end of the Cultural Revolution and the defeat of the Gang of Four, Deng Xiaoping launched the “Boluan Fanzheng” (拨乱反正) or “To eliminate chaos, and return to normality” policy in order to undo the chaos of the past decade.
6/
6/
One of the leading figures of the Boluan Fanzheng campaign, Hu Yaobang, who was the Chairman & General Secretary of the CCP was very popular, especially among young people for his pro-reform ideas, but he died on April 15, 1989 of natural causes.
Consequently, a funerary vigil began in Tiananmen Square, with many students arriving to lay wreaths or light candles and mourn his death. Thousands of young people started to congregate in Beijing. The movement did not just include students,
7/
7/
but many factory workers, migrant workers, and rural farmworkers as well.
The protests are mistakenly seen by Western media and as a monolithic movement, all urging for the Communist Party to step down and a 'liberal democracy' to be established in its place.
8/
The protests are mistakenly seen by Western media and as a monolithic movement, all urging for the Communist Party to step down and a 'liberal democracy' to be established in its place.
8/
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The protest movement in Tiananmen Square had almost 100,000 people present. Some of these students and workers were communists who loved Mao.
9/
The protest movement in Tiananmen Square had almost 100,000 people present. Some of these students and workers were communists who loved Mao.
9/
Others just wanted to hang out, socialize and have fun.
10/
10/
nytimes.com There were people who were legitimately suffering from a true economic malaise. In 1988, inflation soared 26% inChina,mostly impacting consumers. Ironically, this was the result of a swift liberalization and rapid transition to a western-style economy.
11/
11/
There were some idealistic young people who really wanted a Western-style democracy and also a few opportunistic student leaders who fled to the U.S. right after the protests and went to Yale, Harvard, Princeton etc., thanks to generous help from the US government.
12/
12/
Also thugs who were in minority, but could significantly escalate tension. Some of these thugs had guns — including the 1000s of rifles and machine guns that were stolen from military vehicles.
13/
13/
This is when the U.S. realized that it was a perfect opportunity for a coup since the rest of the world was dismantling communism that year. Thus, on April 20, 1989 – five days after Yaobang’s death – James Lilley was appointed as the US Ambassador to China.
14/
14/
James Lilley was known to be a CIA agent who had already operated in Tibet. In a former testimony, he admitted to having provided weapons to Tibetan insurgents.
We know that the CIA&MI6 were involved because of the 'Operation Yellowbird'.
15/
We know that the CIA&MI6 were involved because of the 'Operation Yellowbird'.
15/
The operation was launched from the then British colonial outpost, Hong Kong, and involved local triad members. During the few weeks of the Tiananmen protest, millions of dollars quickly flowed in from the U.S., U.K., Taiwan, and Hong Kong to support the Color Revolution.
16/
16/
Triads were sent from Hong Kong to train the students in guerrilla warfare.
In an article from Vancouver Sun (17 Sep 1992), a CIA source declares : “The CIA had sources among protesters” … and “the CIA had been helping student activists form the anti-government movement.”
17/
In an article from Vancouver Sun (17 Sep 1992), a CIA source declares : “The CIA had sources among protesters” … and “the CIA had been helping student activists form the anti-government movement.”
17/
washingtonpost.com
Soros, who is legendary for organizing grassroots movements around the world also participated and donated $1 million — which was a huge amount of money in China at the time — to the Fund for the Reform and Opening of China.
18/
Soros, who is legendary for organizing grassroots movements around the world also participated and donated $1 million — which was a huge amount of money in China at the time — to the Fund for the Reform and Opening of China.
18/
The so-called 'National Endowment for Democracy' or NED, a CIA-cutout and regime-change organization as per its founder Allen Wenstein, also opened offices in China in 1988.
19/
19/
Zhao Ziyang, who was then Premier of China and the General Secretary of the Communist Party was accused of having colluded with all those foreign fake NGOs, designated as overseas foreign hostile forces, and having engaged in a political conspiracy.
20/
20/
Zhao Ziyang wanted to overthrow Deng Xiaoping and transform China into a new capitalist country with him in power. Hence, he was purged and placed under house arrest for the rest of his life. After the protests, Soros and his NGOs were also banned in China.
21/
21/
The Chinese government showed amazing restraint. The protests were allowed to go on unimpeded from the 16th April to the 20th May, without incident. Could 100,000 sit in and occupy Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. without opposition for 7 weeks in the U.S. ?
22/
22/
Soldiers were able to converse with students on the ground and were unarmed. They were mostly equipped with wooden sticks and plastic helmets, with approximately one-in-ten of the soldiers armed with an assault rifle.
23/
23/
How did the violence start ? First it is important to understand that the student leaders wanted a massacre to happen. In a vitriolic statement to journalist Peter Cunningham, she admitted to wishing the square to be awashed with blood.
24/
24/
Actually, not all students were so radical and the movement was subject to internal dissent and coups among student leaders, something which has been acknowledge by another student leader, Feng Congde.
25/
25/
Due to the multiple ‘suppressed coups’ within the protest leadership, many people had grown dissatisfied with the protests, especially after protest leaders had failed to propose any tangible solutions when meeting with CPC officials.
26/
26/
After more than one month, on the 20th May, Martial Law was declared and the protestors were told to return home. PLA troops equipped with rudimentary riot gear were sent to clear the square. Troops moving up through Chang’an Avenue were set upon,
27/
27/
with some mobs disarming the armed soldiers, and others using violence against the soldiers.
According to a WashingtonPost article from June 5th, 1989: “anti-government fighters had been organised into formations of 100-150 people."
28/
According to a WashingtonPost article from June 5th, 1989: “anti-government fighters had been organised into formations of 100-150 people."
28/
"They were armed with Molotov cocktails and iron clubs, to meet the PLA who were still unarmed in the days prior to 4 June” – this article has since been stricken from WaPo’s archives.
29/
29/
On the night of June 2, all of the violence took place in the side streets, and along Chang’an avenue. Weapons that had been confiscated from the few armed officers were handed out to rioters, APCs were set ablaze with molotov cocktails,
30/
30/
and troop transports with more heavily armed soldiers (in response to the first few incidents) were captured.
31/
31/
Radical student leaders allied with radical thugs in order to attack the army and to burn military vehicles. But it's important to understand that no violence happened in Tian'anmen Square. Fights with soldiers flared-upon in other parts of Beijing.
32/
32/
In this video, rioters managed to take control of a Type-63 Armoured personnel carrier (APC) and were filmed ‘joyriding’ it around the streets adjacent to Tian’anmen Square and firing the machine gun at soldiers.
33/
33/
Following the intense hostility and with the deaths of 15 soldiers/armed police, the decision was given for the army to withdraw. A second, more heavily armed attempt to take control of the side-streets would be mounted on June 3rd.
34/
34/
On June 3rd, forces suppressed the armed, counterrevolutionary rioters. The PLA was engaged by entrenched rioters who had taken up sniper positions in apartment blocks adjacent to Chang’an Avenue, and with their own vehicles which had been confiscated from them.
/35
/35
This is something corroborated by the CIA in a Wikileaks cable: “They were able to enter and leave the square several times and were not harassed by troops... the diplomat said there were no mass shootings in the square or the monument.”
/36
wikileaks.org
/36
wikileaks.org
archives.cjr.org
earnshaw.com
cbsnews.com
Multiple Western sources corroborate that there was no massacre in Tian'anmen.
37/
earnshaw.com
cbsnews.com
Multiple Western sources corroborate that there was no massacre in Tian'anmen.
37/
A Ford Foundation director and father of Tim Geithner.
38/
LiHong, a HongKong college student who was at Tiananmen Square admitted to lying: No massacre happened.
39/
HouDejian, a Taiwanese singer, was one of the leaders of the Tiananmen protest: No massacre happened.
"I was still in the square at 6:30 in the morning. I didn't saw it happened at all."
40/
"I was still in the square at 6:30 in the morning. I didn't saw it happened at all."
40/
Liuxiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, another leader of the Tiananmen protest: No massacre happened.
"What Hou Dejian said is true."
41/
So how was this lie created?
Lies from student leaders.
Wu’erkaixi, a Uyghur student protests leader claimed that he was present at the square when the soldiers arrived after martial law was declared and that he had personally seen around 200 student shot dead in Tiananmen
42/
Lies from student leaders.
Wu’erkaixi, a Uyghur student protests leader claimed that he was present at the square when the soldiers arrived after martial law was declared and that he had personally seen around 200 student shot dead in Tiananmen
42/
Chai Ling who curiously befriended Pelosi upon her arrival in the US said: “They [students supposedly still in the square] were exhausted and asleep in their tents; these students were then crushed by tanks”.
43/
43/
So what really happened? Gunfights flared-up in other parts of Beijing between violent armed protesters and soldiers. The official report of the Chinese government shows that more than 1000 military vehicles were burned by rioters,200+ soldiers and policemen were murdered.
44/
44/
At that time, the China govt admitted that there were casualties during the whole riot. The place wasn't in the Tiananmen square but in muxudi. 300 death, including soldiers, rioters and onlookers: No cover-up.
45/
45/
Another common misconception in the West is to believe that the Chinese people do not know anything about the incident, due to ‘heavy censorship by their authoritarian government’. This is false.
46/
46/
The Chinese Government released a casualty estimate of approximately 300 killed after the events of 1989, June 4.
A mother of one of the victims investigated and also found similar numbers :
47/
mothership.sg
A mother of one of the victims investigated and also found similar numbers :
47/
mothership.sg
Many westerners, including western reporters, genuinely believe that nobody in China has heard of Tiananmen.
The report on the incident of 1989 June 4 is free and available on China's government website.
48/
So the most relevant estimate is the one of the Chinese govt of 200 people who were killed including 36 students given the available evidence. Yet, Western medias stick to nonsense numbers in order to demonize the Chinese govt with farcical estimates of 10,000s killed.
49/
49/
They never mention the violence and use of weapons against the soldiers and only have 2 arguments to try to buttress their claims.
First the image of a tank stopping across a civil passer-by.
50/
First the image of a tank stopping across a civil passer-by.
50/
This can easily be debunked just by watching the full footage. The tanks were back to base and then continued onwards down Chang’an Avenue.
51/
The second argument is this image of cyclists lying on the ground. But when looking closer they are still alive.
In all the evidence presented by Westerners, there's nothing to buttress such a high estimate as thousands who died in the protests.
52/
In all the evidence presented by Westerners, there's nothing to buttress such a high estimate as thousands who died in the protests.
52/
Calling it a massacre is also misleading, as it presupposes that the violence and shots only went one way.
The best word to describe this event is therefore : color revolution.
END
53/53
The best word to describe this event is therefore : color revolution.
END
53/53
Loading suggestions...