3
SECRET
There were
further indications of troop movements and possible
clashes on the night of 6 June.
THE HIGH COMMAND
3. Yang Shangkun, President of the People's Republic and Permanent Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, is almost the sole
voice issuing orders relating to Martial Law. The Hong Kong press
carried what seems to be a generally reliable account of a speech
Yang made to a meeting of the Military Commission on 24 May in which
he claimed that Deng Xiaoping (who is Chairman of the Commission)
had issued the orders for Martial Law. He claimed that he and three
other members of the Commission, Hong Xuezhi, Liu Huaqing and the
Minister of Defence, Qin Jiwei, had been consulted. He made no
mention of Zhao Ziyang, the First Vice Chairman of the Commission.
4.
According to other, mainly press, reports both Hong Xuezhi and
Qin Jiwei are believed to have been opposed to Martial Law and in
particular to the use of troops against the people of Peking. As a
former Commander of Peking Military Region, Qin may well have shared
the reluctance of his former command. However, Qin has made a
subsequent public appearance in support of the Martial Law decision
on 1 June, which suggests he may have come round.
S. But this does illustrate the lack of unequivocal evidence about
the position of senior figures in the armed forces. Yang Shangkun
evidently represents the more hard line view. He can count on a
powerful group within the armed forces to support him. His brother
is Director of the General Political Department, in effect the chief
political officer in the PLA, and his nephew is, according to some
reports, Commander of 27 Army Group, one of the most active in the
repression of the students. It is quite probable that elements both
within the high command and at operational level had serious doubts
about the decision. Hong Kong press reports have suggested that
several retired senior officers and heroes of the revolution had
expressed their opposition. But there is no clear cut evidence of a coherent military opposition to the current line, at the highest
level.
AS 3AAZ / 2
SECRET
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