On the 30th anniversary of Beijing’s June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre, Probe International Fellow, environmental activist and China’s best-known investigative journalist, Dai Qing, delves deeper into the events leading up to and following the shocking and brutal crackdown that rocked a country on the brink of massive political reform and social change.

Press Release

Dai Qing Publishes New Book on 30^th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre

Title: Deng Xiaoping in 1989

Author: Dai Qing

Publisher: New Century Press

Publication Date: 31 May, 2019

ISBN: 978-988-13296-3-9

RRP: 148HKD

Dai Qing is an investigative journalist who witnessed the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Based on the credible materials currently available and many interviews with those involved in the incident, she has written a retrospective documentary work entitled Deng Xiaoping in 1989.

In Deng Xiaoping in 1989, Dai Qing uses logic and common sense to corroborate and test historical materials and rumours. Using new evidence, she no longer takes the student movement as the episode’s focal point. Breaking with the view of the Massacre that has prevailed for the past 30 years, her book challenges the black-and-white dichotomies of “autocracy vs. democracy” and “government vs. students.”

In Deng Xiaoping in 1989, Dai Qing broadens the scope of her investigation, from before 1989, through the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and up to Deng’s 1992 “Southern Tour.” Within this expanded timeframe, she probes the behaviour and logic of Deng Xiaoping and other high-level leaders, including Zhao Ziyang, Li Peng, and Chen Yun. Fully encompassing the political spectrum from left to right, and highlighting various groups and individuals along that spectrum, Dai Qing provides a larger and more complex picture of the events leading up to and following June 4,1989, ultimately distilling the essence of Red China from this tragic event.

New materials on the Tiananmen Square Massacre used in Deng Xiaoping in 1989 include:

• • The letter from the seven generals opposing the crackdown, submitted to the Central Military Commission and to the People’s Daily, but never published;
  • Eyewitness accounts of the “Tank Man” episode;
  • Accounts of soldiers’ experiences;
  • Li Xiannian’s response to Zhao Ziyang’s speech at the Asian Development Bank (ADB);
  • The relationship between senior figures such as Chen Yun and Li Xiannian, who pretended innocence despite taking part in the crackdown;
  • The martial law training classes for cadres, organized by the National Defense University after June 4, 1989.

Available for purchase on Amazon.ca here.

Read the Chinese version of this press release here: 戴晴新書發佈

Contact: Ms. Zhang
Telephone: +(852) 2394 8863
gfbook@netvigator.com

For more on Dai Qing, see here.