This is a riveting, day-by-day, hour-by-hour reconstruction of the massacre in Tiananmen Square on June 3-4, 1989, as well as of the crucial events in Beijing during the previous weeks that largely precipitated the massacre. The author focuses on the army-the People's Liberation Army-which, with its motto "Serve the People," had always prided itself on its close ties to the civilian population. What were the intentions of the Chinese government in mobilizing the army against civilians? Why did the troops act as they did, and what does this say about how the army would act on the next such occasion? How does the military suppression of the democracy movement help us to understand China's current predicament over democratization and human rights?
- ISBN10 0804736383
- ISBN13 9780804736381
- Publish Date 1 December 1998 (first published 24 September 1992)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 11 March 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Stanford University Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 292
- Language English