Six Years Ago This DayJune 6, 1989

 

China Seen on the Verge of Civil War
Protests Continue in the Provinces

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Source: Compiled by Zuofeng Li from Los Angeles Times, Reuters, June 6, 1989

BEIJING - China teetered this morning on the edge of civil war, with troops presumed loyal to hard-line President Yang Shangkun in control of central Beijing but positioned defensively at strategic points in apparent anticipation of attack by rival forces.

Troops and armored vehicles were reported moving toward Beijing from the east, according to Western diplomats.

A military attache in the British colony of Hong Kong, reached by telephone this morning, said that infantry units of the air force landed at the Nanyuan military airport south of the capital Monday night and engaged in skirmishes with other military units at or near the airport.

Other small-scale duels broke out between rival troops Monday, according to Western witnesses, only about one mile west of Tian An Men Square.

At about 7 p.m. Monday, tanks accompanied by armored personnel carriers and truckloads of troops fanned out to points along the Second Ring Road that loops around the main part of the city.

About 20 tanks continued to stand guard this morning at the Jianguomen bridge on the eastern side of the city, about half facing east in defensive positions. The others faced north, south and west to control access to the strategically important bridge, which crosses the Second Ring Road.

About 100 military vehicles, including armored personnel carriers and troop trucks, were abandoned by soldiers on the west side of the city during the predawn hours Monday and later set afire by residents. Crowds around the charred vehicles reported that the soldiers who had left them and taken refuge at a nearby museum compound had said they were unwilling to fire on unarmed crowds.

Closer to the city center, shooting broke out between two groups of troops near the Minzu Hotel, only about one mile west of Tian An Men Square.

Western diplomats who spoke to reporters for the news agency United Press International said that later in the day they saw two armored personnel carriers engage in a machine-gun duel at the same location, sending bullets through fifth-floor windows of the tourist hotel.

Throughout many parts of the city, citizens erected barricades of buses, trucks, metal-and-concrete street dividers and vegetable market stalls. Citizens stood guard at intersections, many of which were virtually impassable.

The lack of transportation and an eerie tension on the streets kept most workers at home away from their jobs Monday and today. Most stores remained closed and there was worry that food shortages may soon crop up. Relatively few Beijing residents keep stores of food on hand because of a lack of refrigerators. Panic buying of food supplies began to break out.

"We have dried noodles, but that is about all. And we're almost out of cooking oil," complained a homemaker standing in a long line at a vegetable stand near the Temple of the Sun park.

In the old neighborhoods near Tian An Men Square, soldiers were seen Monday running into alleyways and shooting at fleeing residents. One witness said that a teen-age girl was shot in the chest near Tian An Men.

Rifle shots could be heard from the direction of the square in the evening, and a building was set afire on Xidan street and Changan Avenue to the west of the huge central open space.

Reports from other areas of China on Monday indicated that the situation was chaotic in many other cities outside Beijing.

Posters in Shanghai carried the message "The Blood Has Been Shed," referring to the weekend violence in Beijing. Protesters blocked traffic virtually throughout the city, an official at the U.S. Consulate said. The Shanghai municipal government warned that it would take "strong measures" unless the streets were cleared.

The situation in Shanghai further deteriorated in the evening, with authorities warning that they were about to move against the throngs of residents in the streets.

In Chengdu in Sichuan province, a diplomat reported that cars of Chinese officials were being overturned.

In Hangzhou and Wuhan, protesters sat on rail lines, blocking trains to Shanghai and a main north-south line.

According to reports, demonstrations of varying scale have been held in Tianjin, Qingdao, Nanjing, Xian, Changsha and Canton. Worker and shopkeeper strikes are brewing in some cities.

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Excerpt from a Tsinghua Student's Diary:

~{⊙　１９８９年６月６日　星期二~}

~{　　今天的消息越发不好，据说军队已在南郊的南苑机场附近大打起来，城里隐约还~}
~{能听到炮声。~}

~{　　街市的气氛也已很不好，行人变得稀少，火车、邮递、电报、长途电话全都中断~}
~{了。街上已没有公共汽车，也看不到其它车辆。~}

~{　　小胖上午骑车进城探路，到长安街一线就不敢往前了。他说长安街上除了军队外~}
~{空无一人，士兵看见人影就开枪。他远远望见路口的街面上有尸体躺着，没敢再往前~}
~{凑。~}

~{　　全城已经陷入一片恐怖之中！~}

~{　　上午我到校内的储蓄所去取钱，门口已排起长长的队。大家都有一种走难的感觉~}
~{。好容易轮到我，我把账户上的钱几乎全取了。~}

~{　　回宿舍的路上，碰到一个高年级的中学校友，我问他作何打算，他说实在没办法~}
~{了就先骑车离开北京，到了河北什么地方再想办法找车回广州。~}

~{　　下午，我准备离开学校了。我把钱、照片、笔记以及搜集的一些传单、材料，还~}
~{有相机和一些衣物放入背囊中，就骑车离开宿舍。~}

~{　　经过１２号楼化工系的宿舍时，见到一对长长的挽联从楼顶一直挂到楼底，是悼~}
~{念段昌隆的。词写得很好，大意是：十载寒窗，五年苦读，马上就要踏入社会，施展~}
~{才华了，岂料一夕夭折；遂使痴情的女友，白发的双亲，同窗的学友们，都心碎欲绝~}
~{！读罢，真让人不胜痛惜之感！~}

~{　　段昌隆是段祺瑞的孙子（注：有朋友指出，只是侄孙），三代单传。１９２６年~}
~{３月１８日，当时的北洋政府执政段祺瑞，命令其卫队向在执政府门前请愿示威的学~}
~{生开枪，当场打死二十多人，这就是中国近代史上著名的“三·一八”惨案，段祺瑞~}
~{为此备受后人诟骂，可谓千夫所指。鲁迅、朱自清等许多当时的文人，都曾为此留下~}
~{激愤的文字。~}

~{　　今天，轮到共产党的军队，在大街上向群众开枪。而段的孙子，作为青年学生的~}
~{一员，倒在政府军队的枪弹之下，历史真是善作讽刺！~}

~{　　我来到主楼大厅，这里搭起了悼念死难同学的灵堂。我向死难同学的灵位鞠了三~}
~{鞠躬，就转身骑车出校。~}

~{　　学院路上已不见昨天成群离校的学生了。马路中间又有被焚毁了的几辆军车，烧~}
~{得一片焦黑地停在那里。~}

~{　　到西四时，已近４点了。一路上行人车辆都极少。大部分商店、机关都关着门。~}
~{我想找父亲在这里的朋友帮忙买飞机票回广州。但单位的大门紧闭，无人上班。~}

~{　　父亲的朋友住在建国门外，我只去过一次，现在去还不一定找得着。那边又靠近~}
~{长安街，傍晚时分孤零零一个人在那里转，可太危险了。我于是决定，到哲明家去。~}


~{　　到哲明家时，天色已经发暗。哲明的爸妈热情地招呼我进去。大姐则已经到她北~}
~{京的亲戚家去了。~}

~{　　我走进哲明的房间，在沙发上坐下时，见到左边靠墙的大立柜的穿衣镜的右上角~}
~{，有一些放射状的花纹，我以为是装饰性的磨花，也没在意。这时哲明的妈妈走进来~}
~{，指给我看右边阳台玻璃门上的弹孔，说昨晚真是太玄了！~}

~{　　原来昨晚天黑以后，有军队开到下面的街上，据说接到情报，说有人要烧附近的~}
~{一个公共汽车站。~}

~{　　军队在马路上打枪，还对周围的楼喊：不许开灯，不许开窗，不许张望。隔壁大~}
~{院有位老太太，耳朵也聋，听见黑夜里下面马路上吵吵嚷嚷的，不知道出了啥事，就~}
~{开了灯，打开窗，探头望下看，结果一枪打上来，就给打死了。~}

~{　　哲明这间房也挨了一枪。这颗子弹，在阳台玻璃门齐腰高的地方打了个洞，然后~}
~{横贯整个房间，在大衣柜穿衣镜的右上角，正是齐人头高的地方打了一个洞。我打开~}
~{衣柜门，见子弹在衣柜后板上又穿了个洞，看得见水泥预制板的后墙上有一个弹坑。~}
~{阿姨说弹头已经被单位保卫部的人拿走了。阿姨一个劲地说，当时哲明就坐在这张沙~}
~{发上，幸亏他当时睡着了，那么大动静也没醒。否则，只要他站起身，这颗子弹准把~}
~{他报销了。~}

~{　　我顺着两个弹洞的连线望出去，正是下面的大街。这颗子弹打上十几层楼，还一~}
~{气洞穿了这么多东西，穿透力蛮强的哩。~}

~{　　苏虹：昨晚我在姐姐家睡觉。早上起来，姐姐说昨晚可把她和姐夫吓坏了。~}

~{　　原来昨天深夜，忽然有人砰砰地打门。一开门，戒严部队端着枪就进来了。~}
~{　　也不说话，逐个房间地看。我在房间里睡着，那么大动静也没醒。士兵进来~}
~{　　看了一眼又出去了。我姐和姐夫知道我前一阵闹得挺凶的，所以特害怕，也~}
~{　　不知道他们想干什么。~}

~{　　后来外面又有枪响，士兵在屋里查看了一番就走了。~}

~{　　到今天早上一打听，原来昨晚部队是到楼下的一家去抓人，但要抓的人跑了，~}
~{　　部队就在附近搜查了一番。~}

Six Years Ago This Day