Beijing, Past and Future

JANUARY 8 saw the publication of the so-called “Tiananmen Papers,” transcripts of high-level discussions among the Chinese leadership in the period leading up to the suppression of the 1989 student movement. What do these documents reveal about the inner workings of the Chinese leadership? What guidance do they offer to the new U.S. administration in the task of, as foreign- policy wonks say, “managing the relationship” with China? And what can they tell us about the future course of events in China?

Though they offer few surprises, the Tiananmen Papers fill in some key details for us and give a precise chronology of the decision-making that led up to the victory of the hard-liners and the storming of Tiananmen Square in the early hours of June 4, 1989. We already knew from indirect evidence what kinds of things must have been said, but it is fascinating to read the actual words spoken by China’s senior leaders during the crisis. These documents serve to remind us of the fundamentally lawless nature of the Chinese Communist government. The fact of their having been leaked to the West, together with the fierce indignation with which Beijing has denied their authenticity, also offer some clues about differences of opinion at the highest levels of the Party apparatus.

About the Author

John Derbyshire

Mr. Derbyshire is a former contributing editor of National Review.

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JANUARY 8 saw the publication of the so-called “Tiananmen Papers,” transcripts of high-level discussions among the Chinese leadership in the period leading up to the suppression of the 1989 student movement. What do these documents reveal about the inner workings of the Chinese leadership? What guidance do they offer to the new U.S. administration in the task of, as foreign- policy wonks say, “managing the relationship” with China? And what can they tell us about the future course of events in China?

Though they offer few surprises, the Tiananmen Papers fill in some key details for us and give a precise chronology of the decision-making that led up to the victory of the hard-liners and the storming of Tiananmen Square in the early hours of June 4, 1989. We already knew from indirect evidence what kinds of things must have been said, but it is fascinating to read the actual words spoken by China’s senior leaders during the crisis. These documents serve to remind us of the fundamentally lawless nature of the Chinese Communist government. The fact of their having been leaked to the West, together with the fierce indignation with which Beijing has denied their authenticity, also offer some clues about differences of opinion at the highest levels of the Party apparatus.