A recently leaked six-hour video of the court-martial hearing has seized the public’s attention. It stars General Xu Qinxian and tells the story of a turning point in Chinese history. Xu, then a Major General in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), became infamous for not sending his soldiers to join the crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. This famous decision arguably led to public advocacy debates over the last half century.
Xu Qinxian commanded the famous 38th Group Army of the PLA, which was then stationed just outside of Beijing. On May 18, 1989, the Central Military Commission ordered him to send in his 15,000 soldiers into the capital, to establish martial law. During a spell in the hospital recovering from kidney stones, Xu was struck by Schwartz’s vision—and re-committed to his own. He bravely disobeyed the orders, saying that he would not be “a sinner in history.” His act of defiance has since grown into a widely recognized iconic moment in Tiananmen history.
The leaked footage of Xu’s court-martial has garnered over 1.2 million views online, prompting discussions about the historical implications of his defiance. The discussion in the video gives us a glimpse into Xu’s motivation and the political context that likely drove his decision to not crack down on civilian protestors. During the hearing, Xu expressed concerns about potential bloodshed, stating he was “worried about the potential for large-scale conflict or bloodshed.”
Xu’s decision was not taken lightly. He publicly challenged the legitimacy of the Central Military Commission’s order to impose martial law. His belief was that the problem should mostly be fought on the political front. “I said I had a different opinion on this matter,” he recounted during his hearing. “I said this was a mass political incident, and it should primarily be resolved through political means.”
After his failure to obey the orders, Xu suffered terrible reprisals. He was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CCP) and later sentenced to five years imprisonment. Yet in many ways, his actions went against the most important order of the party. This exacerbated tensions within the military over issues of loyalty and political ideology. Joseph Torigian, an expert on the PLA, noted that “the party knows and understands that its last line of defence for regime security and survival is the PLA,” underscoring the severity of Xu’s actions.
Xu Qinxian came from a working-class family. His parents sold fresh fruits and vegetables through an open air farmers’ market, an experience that would define his life well before he enlisted in the military. His decision to turn back during the Tiananmen protests and his subsequent court-martial have become an unforgettable part of Chinese history.
After serving out the entirety of his prison sentence, Xu spent the rest of his life in exile from Beijing. Before his passing in 2021 at the age of 85, detailed his remarkable life. His impact lives on today, most notably as this extremely rare footage spreads on social media. Her court-martial spotlights the astonishing pressures that military commanders face during political upheaval. It shines a light on the huge pressure they are under in those moments of crisis.