Video shows Gen Xu Qinxian explaining why he refused to deploy troops to crush 1989 student-led demonstrations
Rare footage of a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) general who defied orders to lead his troops into Tiananmen Square and crush the 1989 student protesters has been leaked online, offering a highly unusual glimpse into the upper echelons of the military at one of the most fraught moments in modern Chinese history.
General Xu Qinxian’s refusal to take his troops from the PLA’s prestigious 38th Group Army, a unit based on the outskirts of Beijing, into the capital has been the stuff of Tiananmen lore for decades.
The six-hour video recording of Gen Xu’s court martial hearing the next year sheds light on the rare act of defiance. In the video, Xu said he refused because he did not want to become “a sinner in history”.
It seems like all empires are horrible to me. Humans suck, especially when they have power
It’s a flaw of empires in general. They become this pervasive machine where ends always justify the means and there’s just too much power and slow rare of change. Just a bad system no matter how you look at it.
Yeah.
There’s lots of instances throughout history that prove that humans with power suck.
I like to think that it’s because nice people aren’t the type to accumulate power rather than power corrupts nice people who do get power.
Power corrupts insecure people
I think we make the mistake of letting people govern groups of people that they are too distant from to care about. Leaders are essential, but they have to care about the people they lead. I dont think its actually possible to care about people a thousand miles away the same way as the people in your community. I think this is why the largest countries that are controlled by the fewest people have the most problems. Its a delegation issue essentially.
Why are leaders essential? I would say just the opposite, leaders are unnecessary and inherently dangerous. Anyone seeking a leadership position is a red flag.
Because putting people with good judgment in leadership roles improves the lives of everyone. I suppose that doesn’t make them essential though.
I agree, that’s why all empires must die