Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 10:30:15 +0100 (MET)
Subject: M-G: UNITE! Info #61en: {8/9} Reply on Cultural Revolution


UNITE! Info #61en: {8/9} Reply on Cultural Revolution
[This part of M-G siege version to list on 08.02.98]

[Ctd. from {7/9}]


13 C. FALSE STORY [ctd.]

When much later, in our renewed debate in December 1996, Jay 
i.a. brought a list of Peking Review articles he recommended 
others to read on the subject of the 4-gang, his "real revolu-
tionaries" in China, he "had forgotten all about" that article 
which he himself had earlier posted as "one important piece of 
evidence"; he also had nothing at all to say on my comments on 
this matter. This was one small piece of what I eventually 
found to be a method (of dishonesty) on the part of that 
writer, whom I had earlier valued as a contact and, in some 
respects, an ally but whom I found it necessary to attack in 
Info #45en as a "pal" (for short) of the 4-gang. This was 
*their* (and others') kind of reactionary methods: Going on, 
when they're refuted, as if the subject in question "had never 
been raised", passing over the "uncomfortable" things as if they 
just "aren't there".

Here now is that article, as originally reproduced by Jay Miles 
to the (then) Marxism list at Spoons' on 08.05.1996, with an
intro and with mid-'96 comments by me in brackets (from Info 
#22en part 2/12, which reproduced an earlier posting):


"The Four" & events in China 1976 (2): PR #15 lies!   
[Sent:13.05.96]

.........

Hello again Jay, 

[Here I repeat that article in Peking Review #15 / 1976  on the 
important events on the Tiananmen Square on 05.04.1976 which you
posted and which absolutely is useful in itself - once you've 
noticed how it lies. In some brief comments I've added here, I'm
trying to point this out.] 

[I'll not put quote marks on the article but will put my own 
comments between brackets. In order really to get informed about
what took place you'll have to read other accounts, e.g. one of 
those by the many foreign correspondents present - who sometimes
present strange "interpretations" of events but at least don't 
*conceal the main story*, as does PR #15/76. Such an account, 
together with some comments of mine, is given in two parts in my
postings (4) and (5).] {The one in part 5/7 plus above here}


COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARY POLITICAL INCIDENT AT
TIEN AN MEN SQUARE

from Peking Review #15, April 9, 1976 (Translation of Renmin
Ribao (People's Daily) reports by worker-peasant-soldier corres-
pondents and staff correspondents.)

Early April, a handful of class enemies, under the guise of com-
memorating the late Premier Chou during the Ching Ming Festival,
engineered an organized, premeditated and planned counter-revo-
lutionary political incident at Tien An Men Square in the capi-
tal.  They flagrantly made reactionary speeches, posted reactio-
nary poems and slogans, distributed reactionary leaflets and 
agitated for the setting up of counter-revolutionary organiza-
tions.  By means of insinuation and overt counter-revolutionary
language, they brazenly clamoured that "the era of Chin Shih 
Huang is gone."  Openly hoisting the ensign of supporting Teng 
Hsaio-ping, they frenziedly directed their spearhead at our 
great leader Chairman Mao, attempted to split the Party Central 
Committee headed by Chairman Mao, tried to change the general 
orientation of the current struggle to criticize Teng Hsaio-ping
and counterattack the Right deviationist attempt to reverse cor-
rect verdicts, and engaged in counter-revolutionary activities.

The counter-revolutionary activities culminated on April 5.  At
about 8 a.m., a loudspeaker car of the municipal Public Security
Bureau was overturned, the body of the car and its loudspeakers
smashed.  After 9 a.m., more than 10,000 people gathered in 
front of the Great Hall of the People.  At its maximum the crowd
at Tien An Men Square numbered about 100,000 people.  Except 
for a handful of bad elements who were bent on creating distur-
bances, the majority of the people were passers-by who came over
to see what was happening.  

[MY COMMENT:
Didn't that passage disturb you, Jay? It did me, back in 1976!
But I couldn't put my finger then on what might be wrong. Here
we're asked to believe that all those people were standing idly
by while "a handful of bad elements" were busy making counter-
revolutionary "disturbances"! Doesn't this account *stink* of 
untruthfulness, even as it stands?]
 
[And on the same page where this article starts, there's repro-
duced a call over the radio by the Mayor of Beijing for "revolu-
tionary masses" to *leave*(!) the square "so as not to be duped"
etc. Why on Earth would he want them to leave?? Why wasn't he on
the contrary calling on all to *go to the square* and help coun-
tering and dissuading that (supposed) "handful of bad elements" 
who were "trying to dupe" some people?? On what actually hap-
pened, see my (4) and (5)!]  

Some of the people were around the Monument to the People's 
Heroes; the majority were concentrated on the west side of the 
square near the eastern entrance to the Great Hall of the Peop-
le.  A dozen young people were surrounded and beaten up by some 
bad elements, recieving cuts and bruises on their heads with 
blood trickling down their swollen faces. The hooligans shouted:
"Beat them to death!  Beat them to death!" An army guard who 
tried to stop the hooligans by persuasion had his insignia pul-
led off, uniform torn and his face beaten to bleed.  The bad 
elements exclaimed:  "Who can put this situation under control?
Nobody in the Central Committee can.  Should he come today he 
would not be able to return!"  Their counter-revolutionary ar-
rogance was unbridled to the extreme.  The masses were infuria-
ted and many of them said: "Ever since liberation, Tien An Men
Square has always been the place where our great leader Chairman
Mao reviews parades of the revolutionary masses. We'll absolute-
ly not tolerate such counter-revolutionary acts happening here!" 

[MY COMMENT: 
So they absolutely wouldn't tolerate it? But that's precisely 
what the PR just said that those 100,000 people on the square 
did! Perhaps the reporter was talking to someone at the other 
end of the city? And what was the Mayor telling that someone on 
the radio? "Keep away from the Tiananmen Square!" In practice, 
the "level of tolerance" seemed quite high on all hands, didn't 
it?]
 
Several hundred worker-militiamen who went up the flight of 
steps leading to the Great Hall of the People to stand guard 
were broken up into several sections by the hooligans. The lat-
ter repeatedly shouted reactionary slogans and savagely beat up 
anyone in the crowd who opposed them.  Some of those who got 
beaten up were dragged to the monument and forced to kneel down 
and "confess their crimes."

At 11:05 a.m., many people surged towards the Museum of Chinese
History on the east side of Tien An Men Square.  In front of the
museum, a woman comrade who came forward to dissuade them was 
immediately manhandled.  At this moment, a bunch of bad elements
besieged a People's Liberation Army barracks by the clock tower
in the southeast corner of the square.  They crushed the door, 
broke into the building and occupied it.  A few bad elements, 
sporting a crew cut, took turns to incite the people, shouting 
themselves hoarse through a transistor megaphone.  Towards noon,
some of the troublemakers proclaimed the inauguration of what 
they called "committee of the people of the capital for commemo-
rating the Premier."  A bad element wearing spectacles had the 
impudence to announce that the Public Security Bureau must give 
a reply in ten minutes.  He threatened that if their demands 
were not met, they would smash the public security department.

[MY COMMENT:
As becomes clear from foreign reports, what the people wanted
a reply to was: Why were the wreaths (not mentioned at all by 
PR) removed, and where are they now? Se my (4) and (5).]

At 12:30, the P.L.A. fighters on guard duty at Tien An Men 
Square marched in formation towards their barracks to guard it.
The bad elements who were making disturbances shouted in insti-
gation: "The people's army should stand on the side of the 
people!" and "Those befuddled by others are innocent!"  Later, 
they overturned a Shanghai sedan car and set it on fire.  The 
firemen and P.L.A. guards who came to the rescue were blocked, 
and a fire engine was wrecked.  These bad elements said that 
putting out the fire meant "suppressing the mass movement."  
Several members of the firebrigade were beaten to bleed.

At 12:45, a detachment of people's police came as reinforcement.
But they too were taunted and stopped.  The caps of several po-
licemen were snatched by the rioters and thrown to the air.  
Some even threw knives and daggers at the people's police.  Se-
veral policemen were surrounded and beaten up.

In the afternoon, the sabotage activities of this handful of 
counter-revolutionaries became still more frenzied.  They burnt 
up four motor vehicles bringing water and food to the worker-
militiamen on duty or belonging to the public security depart-
ment.  Around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, this gang of bad ele-
ments again broke into that barracks, abducted and beat up the 
sentries, smashed the windows and doors on the ground floor and 
looted everything in the rooms.  Radios, quilts, bed sheets, 
clothing and books were all thrown into the fire by this gang of
counter-revolutionaries.  They also burnt and smashed dozens of 
bicycles of the Peking worker-militiamen.  Black smoke rose to  
the sky amid a hubbub of counter-revolutionary clamors.  Nearly
all the window panes in the barracks were smashed.  Then they 
set the barracks on fire. 

[Ctd. in {9/9}]



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