Military+Causes

Outline the MILITARY causes of the Tiananmen Square massacre here.

LONG TERM The People's Liberation Army was founded on the 1st of august 1927, then known as the Chinese Red Army. Between 1934 and 1935, the Red Army survived several campaigns led against it by Generalissimo Chaing-kai Shek and engaged in the Long March. Their discipline and support of the people during the Long March made them an important part of Chinese society. The helped defend China from attack by the Japanese during World War II

MID TERM Prior to the Cultural Revolution, the army commanders had been locals throughout regional China and had held their positions for a long time. The Chinese Government wanted to centralise authority over the army ("Power comes from the barrel of a gun" - Mao) Deng Xiaoping began a series of modernisations when he was in control of the army. These included recruitment, training, strategy ad education. During the economic boom under Xiaoping, the army was decreased in size to channel funds elsewhere. This caused resentment in some areas of the PLA. They were angry that the government seemed to be ignoring their concerns, and also many were not sympathetic to the concerns of other groups (eg intellectuals) that were also suffering economically.

SHORT TERM Li Peng, central member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was in favour of military action, but it took a while to convince others. In the meantime, martial law was enforced in Beijing. Zhao Zhiyang (General Secretary CCP) was ousted due to his support of the student protests. Eventually it was agreed that the army would be brought in, but they brought in PLA from rural areas as PLA from the cities were considered sympathetic to the student cause. The entire army was ordered not to read newspapers from 22nd May on so they would not be sympathetic to the students. There was not cohesive communication in the army, and uneven support throughout. Some sections of the Army were reluctant whereas the 27th Army positioned itself in defensive form so as to best protect themselves. They arrived in the city at 1am on 4th June, and were ordered by the CCP to clear the Square by no later than 6am. At 4am, armoured vehicles drove into the Square firing indiscriminately into the crowd. When students attempted to leave, thy were shot in the back as they ran. The use of the army and its tactics exacerbated an already tense situation and brought protest from other areas of Chinese society and the international community.