Li Peng, infamously known as the 'Butcher of Beijing', has died aged 90
entry for April 27th 1989 recorded the moment when the trouble touched Li Peng directly. On his way home from his prime ministerial office in Beijing, his car was blocked by student protesters. His driver and bodyguards—and he was glad to have both at that moment—had to find another way round.
In fact, Chinese politics during the Deng era was often contradictory: both benign and hardline. In 1989 the paramount leader had two lieutenants, and Li was only one of them. The other, totally different, was the party chief, Zhao Ziyang, a seeming liberal through and through, a suave, charismatic man who wore Western suits. Li had long been at loggerheads with Zhao over the pace and direction of change, on questions ranging from price reform to ideological controls.
The night of May 20th seared his face on China’s memory. That was when he appeared on state television, wearing a Mao suit and with his hair slicked back, to justify the imminent imposition of martial law in Beijing. “The anarchic state is going from bad to worse,” he read from a script in a voice that was tense and jerky with anger. “The fate and future of the People’s Republic of China, built by many revolutionary martyrs with their blood [his father among them], are facing a serious threat.
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