China's late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) "resolutely backed" the Tiananmen Square Massacre 15 years ago, former premier Li Peng (李鵬) said in a rare commentary on the bloody incident he has long been blamed for.
Li was premier when Chinese soldiers were ordered into Tiananmen Square in Beijing to quell a month-long rally by students demanding more democracy in communist China. He and Deng have been the target of blame for the resulting massacre on June 4 and June 5, 1989.
But in an article in the Communist Party magazine Seeking Truth cited widely by Hong Kong media yesterday, Li said it was Deng who made the decision to send in the troops.
"In the spring and summer of 1989, a serious political disturbance took place in China," Li reportedly wrote. "Comrade Deng Xiaoping -- along with other party elders -- gave the party leadership their firm and full support to put down the political disturbance using forceful measures."
Li's comments are among the most explicit made about the event, on which Chinese authorities maintain a strict gag.
It follows reports authorities had blocked his efforts to publish memoirs that sought to clear him from blame for the massacre.
In March, the Chinese-language magazine Yazhou Zhoukan claimed Li's nearly 300,000-word manuscript, entitled The Key Moment, detailed how important decisions at the time were not made by him as widely believed. But he was told it was inappropriate to publish the book for the time being.
In his article, Li also said Deng decided to ignore opposition in Hong Kong and push for the construction of the country's largest nuclear power plant at nearby Daya Bay on the coast of southern Guangdong Province.
The plan caused a stir in Hong Kong, where environmentalists were worried over possible radioactive leaks.
Li, who became premier in 1988, also recalled how Deng advised him, then a timid apprentice, to deal with the daunting job.
"Comrade Xiaoping said: What I am worried about is that you are not bold enough to carry out your work. You have to study hard and train yourself in work in order to make yourself more mature," Li was quoted as writing.
Other former leaders also wrote articles for Seeking Truth to mark the centenary of Deng's birth this Sunday, but only Li referred directly to the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS