Instances of Insubordination in the PLA during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Gate of Heavenly Peace, Richard Gordon and Carma Hinton, ITVS, 1995. Instances of Insubordination in the PLA during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 saw a massive redeployment of People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops into and around Beijing. After the declaration of martial law, the PLA mobilized at least 22 divisions from 13 Armies, which converged on Beijing . This force far exceeded the local garrison, with troops being sent in from across China. Altogether, roughly 300,000 troops were involved in the campaign to quell the protests. By their end, the PLA had proven that
Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters Headquarters. Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters established a variety of measures to protect students protesting in Tiananmen Square. Their first was the installation of a broadcasting system for establishing authority and issuing instructions to protestors. The system was used for a final time on June 3 to report the first acts of violence occurring on the square’s surrounding streets, and to prompt the Hunger Strikers to remain passive. The system’s use quickly expanded beyond its original purpose. In his memoir, Li Lu notes that early on June 3 the system was used to pacify agitated students by playing Beethoven, with the