this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2025
627 points (98.9% liked)

World News

51499 readers
1388 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

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”.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 88 points 4 days ago (13 children)

Don't worry, I've been told by users that it didn't happen, and that if it did, it wasn't what we saw, and it wasn't that bad, and that, if it was, they deserved it.

[–] Credibly_Human@lemmy.world 14 points 4 days ago

It is really crazy that this weird china apologism is so common here.

Its the type of shit you'd expect to see more on reddit, but instead its on lemmy way more.

[–] Tja@programming.dev 6 points 4 days ago (2 children)

It's all AI anyway. If you saw tank man before, you are being lied to by western propaganda.

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 22 points 4 days ago (5 children)

Ai in 1989 was so advanced lol

[–] Tja@programming.dev 6 points 4 days ago

That's what the CIA is trying to hide! Don't fall for it!

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 11 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Imagine if 2020 had AI becoming this popular.

Pretty sure there would be conspiracy theories that accuse the George Floyd's murder video of being "AI"

The future is so cooked.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (11 replies)
[–] qaz@lemmy.world 177 points 5 days ago (1 children)

For anyone else that is interested in what came of him:

Xu was expelled from the CCP and sentenced to five years in prison. He lived the rest of his life exiled from Beijing and died in 2021 at the age of 85.

[–] markko@lemmy.world 138 points 5 days ago (3 children)

A much happier ending than I expected.

[–] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 30 points 4 days ago (1 children)

No kidding. If this happened in North Korea the trial would have lasted 15 minutes and the execution would have been a public spectacle.

[–] axh@lemmy.world 20 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Can't make a public spectacle of something that "never happened".

[–] zqps@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 days ago

You're clearly not well-practiced at doublethink.

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 16 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

In Qing Dynasty, the entire family and close relatives would've gotten publicly executed.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yay CCP is slightly less cruel than a medieval monarch

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Somebody did something to make thing better, we need to do it again

(Xinhai Revolution 2025 Edition)

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Sometimes I day dream how cool free China would actually be

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 43 points 4 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

General Xu was 100% correct. The entire CCP and high ranking PLA officers should have been thrown into a courtroom and sent to prison for murder.

[–] AstaKask@lemmy.cafe 92 points 5 days ago (22 children)

Good man. Too bad China kills good people. It's a horrible empire.

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 87 points 5 days ago (3 children)

It seems like all empires are horrible to me. Humans suck, especially when they have power

[–] nogooduser@lemmy.world 20 points 5 days ago (2 children)

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.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 16 points 5 days ago (2 children)

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.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] AugustWest@lemmy.world 30 points 5 days ago (1 children)

A good point. Though I was surprised to read this particular dissident only got 5 years in prison and exile from Beijing.

[–] CosmoNova@lemmy.world 28 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Seems like standard procedure to higher ups in China. They did something similar to Xi Jinping‘s father when he spoke out against a violent solution for the protests. Too bad Xi learned all the wrong lesson‘s from his dad‘s political exile.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 16 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 39 points 5 days ago (2 children)

He went to prison for 5 years and then lived into his 80s.

[–] RickyRigatoni@retrolemmy.com 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)

They killed him in the slowest way possible 😔

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

We put him in the time machine but it only goes forwards at normal speed!

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (19 replies)
[–] thatradomguy@lemmy.world 24 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Great, now reveal all epstein files without black outs.

[–] helvetpuli@sopuli.xyz 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

It turns out they, or many of them anyway, were done with Word.

[–] 87Six@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 days ago

Well, done POORLY in word. They could've done it right but if you don't know already, magats are idiots

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] MehBlah@lemmy.world 22 points 4 days ago

Time to change some of my challenge responses on some of my equipment to include him as the greatest chinese citizen. I have the standard remember Tiananmen Square response. Always fun to let them port scan and attempt to brute force with those responses.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 33 points 5 days ago
[–] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 41 points 5 days ago

Qinxian made a decision that saved countless lives, much like Arkhipov in the 60s.

[–] aesviation@lemmings.world 24 points 5 days ago

Modern journalism headline

load more comments
view more: next ›