Instances of Insubordination in the PLA during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. 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 it was largely willing to enforce party decrees with lethal force.
Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters through student pickets and entered the square, demonstrating the inability of the pickets to resist the army. Once the crackdown began, the responsibilities of the pickets widened to include maintaining order during the square’s evacuation, as well as physically protecting the Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters leaders, which facilitated the escape of Chai Ling, Feng Congde, Li Lu, and Wang Chaohua. Attempting to exercise effective authority, the Headquarters established a central location so that they could create security lines and be found easily. It is important to note that the intended use of these security lines differs between the English and