Xu Qinxian

Xu Qinxian (Chinese: 徐勤先; pinyin: Xú Qínxiān) (born 1935) was the commander of the 38th Group Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army who refused to use force against demonstrators in Beijing during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Xu was court-martialed, jailed for five years and expelled from the Chinese Communist Party.

General Xu Qinxian was born in Dawu County, Hubei Province to a poor peasant's family. His ancestral line originates from Ye County (now Laizhou), Shandong Province. After the outbreak of the Korean War, he volunteered for the army and was initially rejected because he was underage. He was allowed to enlist after he bit his finger and wrote an appeal in blood. Xu saw combat in the war and became a tank operator in the 38th Army. By 1980, he was a division commander of the 1st Tank Division, and participated in the large-scale military exercises of northern China in 1984. In 1987, Xu Qinxian became the commander of the 38th Group Army, based in Baoding, Hebei Province.

In March 1989, Xu Qinxian was wounded in a grenade accident and sent to the Beijing Military Region Hospital in the capital. While hospitalized he watched the student movement unfold and was moved to tears by media coverage of students on hunger strike.

In mid-May, he was recalled to Baoding to plan for the mobilization of the 38th Army. On or about May 20, 1989, the 38th Army was verbally ordered by the Beijing Military Region (BMR) to enforce martial law order against demonstrators in Beijing. Xu was a protege of Defense Minister Qin Jiwei, who had reservations about enforcing the crackdown. Xu said he could not comply with a verbal order to mobilize and demanded to see a written order. When told by the BMR that it "was wartime" and an order in writing would be provided later, Xu responded that there was no war and reiterated his refusal to carry out the order.

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