The Counter-Revolutionary Political Incident at Tiananmen Square
“People’s Daily” Workers, Peasants, Soldiers Correspondent “People’s Daily” Reporter
In early April, in the capital Tiananmen Square, a small group of class enemies under the pretense of commemorating Premier Zhou on Qingming Festival deliberately, systematically, and organizedly fabricated a counter-revolutionary political incident.
They brazenly delivered reactionary speeches, posted reactionary poetry and slogans, distributed reactionary leaflets, and incited anti-revolutionary organizations. Using insinuation and outright reactionary language, they wildly shouted “Qin Shi Huang’s era is over,” openly waved the banner supporting Deng Xiaoping, and crazily directed their attacks at the great leader Chairman Mao, splitting the Central Committee of the Communist Party led by Mao, attempting to reverse the current main direction of the struggle against Deng and the rightist counter-revolutionary overturning, engaging in counter-revolutionary activities.
On April 5th, this reactionary activity reached its peak. Around 8 o’clock, a broadcast propaganda vehicle from the municipal Public Security Bureau was smashed, overturned on the ground, with its body and horn crushed. After 9 o’clock, over ten thousand people gathered at the entrance of the Great Hall of the People. At the peak, the crowd on the square was estimated to be nearly one hundred thousand. Except for a very few troublemakers, the vast majority were passersby and onlookers. Some were around the monument, most concentrated on the west side of the square and at the east gate of the Great Hall of the People.
About ten young people were beaten by troublemakers, their heads swollen with large blood blisters, faces swollen, bleeding. The rioters shouted: “Beat him to death! Beat him to death!” A guard soldier came out to persuade them, but was immediately torn off his badge and cap by the troublemakers, his clothes ripped open, and beaten so that his face was covered in blood. These bad guys also brazenly said: “Who can control this scene? No one in the central authorities can handle it. If the leaders come today, they won’t be able to leave!” The reactionary arrogance was extremely rampant. Many people angrily said: “Since liberation, Tiananmen Square has always been the place where our great leader Chairman Mao reviews the revolutionary masses, and such reactionary incidents are absolutely unacceptable.”
Several hundred workers and soldiers, to defend the Great Hall of the People, lined up and marched into the hall corridor but were cut into several sections by the rioters. These troublemakers kept shouting reactionary slogans, and anyone opposing them was beaten with fists, bloodied and battered. Some were forced to kneel and “confess” at the monument.
At 11:05, many again surged toward the History Museum on the east side of Tiananmen Square. A female comrade came out to persuade them but was immediately dragged away and beaten. At this time, a group of troublemakers surrounded the southeast corner of the square, near the clock tower, smashed the door of a People’s Liberation Army barracks, and occupied the building. Several men with crew cuts, holding semi-conductor microphones, took turns shouting hoarse incitements. Near noon, some rioters announced the establishment of the “Capital People’s Memorial Committee for the Premier.” A bad guy wearing glasses threatened that the Public Security Bureau had ten minutes to respond; if not, they would smash the police department.
At 12:30, the guards on duty at Tiananmen Square lined up to march toward the barracks to defend them. The rioters incited loudly: “The People’s Sons and Daughters stand with the people!” “Being deceived is not a crime!” Subsequently, a Shanghai-registered small car was pushed over and set on fire. Firefighters and guards trying to intervene were blocked, and a fire truck was damaged. These troublemakers claimed that extinguishing the fire was “suppressing the mass movement,” and several firefighters were beaten so badly they bled.
At 12:45, a team of police officers arrived to support but were also attacked and blocked. Several police hats were torn off and thrown into the air by the rioters. Some threw knives and daggers at the police, and several officers were surrounded and beaten.
In the afternoon, the destructive activities of this small group of reactionaries became even more rampant. They burned four vehicles used for duty—delivering water, food, and to the security department. Around 5 p.m., they stormed the barracks again, beating and dragging away the guards at the entrance, smashing the ground-floor windows, and looting everything inside. Radios, quilts, bed sheets, clothes, books, and other items were thrown into fires, and dozens of bicycles belonging to the capital workers and soldiers were destroyed or smashed. The scene was filled with black smoke and the noise of reactionary chaos. The glass of the barracks was almost completely shattered, and they set the building on fire.
The broad revolutionary masses despise this reactionary political incident. However, this small group of bad elements arrogantly claimed: “This is the power of the masses,” and brazenly said: “Now no one can control it; even a regiment or a division is useless.” Their reactionary arrogance was extremely rampant.
See how these reactionary elements, using extremely rotten and decayed reactionary language, maliciously and insidiously attack and slander the great leader Chairman Mao and the leadership comrades of the Central Committee:
“The mournful ghost calls, I cry, the howling wolf laughs, shed blood to sacrifice the hero, raise eyebrows and draw swords from sheaths. China is no longer the China of the past, and the people are no longer fools, the feudal society of Qin Huang has gone forever. We believe in Marxism-Leninism, and let those eunuchs who mutilate Marxism-Leninism go to hell! What we want is true Marxism-Leninism. For the true Marxism-Leninism, we are not afraid to shed our heads and blood, on the day of the Four Modernizations, we will hold grand sacrifices.”
This group of reactionaries, claiming to oppose “Qin Huang” and demanding “true Marxism-Leninism,” is entirely the same as the language in Lin Biao’s counter-revolutionary coup plan “‘571 Project’ Minutes,” which is pure reactionary incitement. These reactionaries direct their spears at the great leader Chairman Mao, at the Central Committee led by Mao, and praise Deng Xiaoping’s counter-revolutionary revisionist line, further exposing their evil purpose of carrying out revisionism and restoring capitalism in China.
During these days, these troublemakers not only wrote reactionary poetry but also posted reactionary leaflets. They praised Deng Xiaoping, attempting to promote Deng as the leader of the Hungarian counter-revolutionary events Nagi. They falsely claimed: “Under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership, the central work has achieved decisive victory,” and “The entire nation is overjoyed.” They also viciously attacked and slandered, claiming: “The recent so-called anti-rightist struggle is the overturning activity of a small group of ambitious people.” These people openly oppose the great struggle led personally by Chairman Mao to counter the rightist overturning, and their reactionary arrogance is extreme.
However, when the reactionaries are rampant, it is also the day of their downfall. They are very isolated and have lost the support of the people. While these bad elements caused trouble, committed crimes, and disrupted, many revolutionary masses courageously stood up to condemn their reactionary acts and fought against them. The workers, soldiers, guards, and revolutionary masses present on the square, working in close coordination, fought bravely to defend Chairman Mao, the Central Committee, Mao’s revolutionary line, and the great capital of socialist motherland.
At 5 p.m., when this small group of bad elements set fire to the barracks again, guards risked their lives to put out the fire. To protect the safety of the Great Hall of the People, over a hundred workers and soldiers were injured, more than ten seriously. Six guards were taken away, and many were injured. The police officers continued to fight at great risk.
The leaders of the Capital Workers and Soldiers Command, in the critical situation of being trapped in the barracks and the fire reaching the second floor, persisted in fighting from the third floor. The telephone operators, in urgent moments, calmly and intelligently reported the situation to the relevant leadership departments.
At 6:30 p.m., after Comrade Wu De’s speech was broadcast, most of the passersby and deceived masses quickly left the square. However, a small group of reactionaries continued to resist stubbornly, posting more reactionary poetry around the Monument to the People’s Heroes.
At 9:30 p.m., after tens of thousands of workers and soldiers received orders from the Beijing Revolutionary Committee, with the cooperation of police and guards, they took decisive measures to implement the dictatorship of the proletariat. The heroic capital militia, full of morale, proudly formed ranks and marched into Tiananmen Square to launch a strong counterattack. They surrounded the remaining troublemakers still committing crimes near the monument, detaining the current offenders and major suspects for investigation.
This small group of vicious troublemakers, faced with the mighty dictatorship of the proletariat, was utterly defeated. One by one, like stray dogs, they cowered on the ground trembling; some hurriedly handed over their knives, triangular blades, and notebooks filled with reactionary poetry; a few criminals who drew knives and attempted to attack were justly punished. The broad revolutionary masses cheered, and the entire city warmly supported and praised the revolutionary actions of the workers, soldiers, police, and guards of the capital.
