"Students linked arms but were mown down including soldiers. APCs then ran over bodies time and time again to make 'pie' and remains collected by bulldozer. Remains incinerated and then hosed down drains.“
It doesn't sound terribly plausible as a disposal method to me. Not something I would believe without more sources / evidence.
So basically, you don't like these facts so we must be skeptical of them?
These were not two hostile countries in a war of whataboutism like the US and USSR.
China ≠ USSR - this was long after the Sino-Soviet split and by the late 80s the UK and China had good relations.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration (which would return Hong Kong to China) was signed in 1984, and Queen Elizabeth made a visit in 1986.
Also, a photo released in 2009 of "Tank Man" from another angle clearly shows a bulldozer:
https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/behind-the-scenes-...
Larger image (direct link): https://static01.nyt.com/packages/flash/photo/Lens-Single-As...
You appear to be uncritically accepting rumours on a leaked cable as a fact - instead I only urge caution on such emotional matters.
Were people run over? Were bodies moved by bulldozer? Those statements can be true without that particularly gruesome scene being accurate. It is its gruesomeness that makes me suspect - a property that makes urban legends infectious - the sensationalism outweighs the substance, evidence and rationality e.g. who saw it, when did it happen, how many people were subject to it, why was that a rational thing to do etc.
> These were not two hostile countries in a war of whataboutism like the US and USSR.
We are not discussing an official statement from the British government so geopolictical relationships are hardly relevant. Governments and civil services are full of agendas in every direction but more likely this is an embassy doing its job i.e. reporting on the various rumours circulating in the host nation.
The reason for caution is that people are describing their emotional reactions to these words without considering the grounds. At the best of times there is some pretty horrid anti-Chinese xenophobia on this board. People want the worst things to be true irrespective of evidence. US citizen's casually describe Russia and China as enemies today. Something you only have to say enough times for it to become true.
No, at the best of times China is discussed as an exciting place where cool tech is happening.
Horrid xenophobia would be the worst of times. Or are you saying HN has something even worse than that for China?
As for people believing exaggerations about the Tiananmen Square Massacre: sorry, not sorry. If China wants there to be a measured and accurate public accounting of that then they can participate in the free and open discussion of that history. As long as they continue to murder or otherwise destroy the life of anyone who discusses it, the consequence is that people are forced to guess what happened. Too bad.
