China plans 'Tiananmen' rebuttal

By Willy Wo-Lap Lam
Senior China Analyst

HONG KONG, China -- Chinese authorities are preparing a detailed rebuttal of "The Tiananmen Papers" to coincide with the publication of the Chinese version of the controversial book next month.

The rebuttal, which may be publicly released, lists the alleged inaccuracies and inconsistencies found in the "Papers".

The latter purportedly contained internal party documents on high-level decision-making leading up to the June 4, 1989 massacre.

"Top cadres such as [President] Jiang Zemin have in internal meetings said the 'Papers' are a fabrication that has confused the minds of cadres and the people," a party source in Beijing said.

"Party authorities may release the rebuttal to clear the air -- and to buttress their claim that the 'Papers' is part of an international plot to stir up instability in the country."

Soon after the publication of the English edition of the "Papers" early this year, the party leadership set up a special committee to counter what it called the book's "ill effects.''

The committee is made up of cadres from units including the Propaganda Department, the Ministry of State Security, the police, the General Office of the Central Committee, the People's Daily and other major media.

Doubt on authenticity

For example, the committee will publish articles aimed at casting doubt on the authenticity of the "Papers". It will also organize meetings of scholars and cadres to denounce the book -- and the "anti-China" sentiments behind its release.

Customs and police units have been asked to seize copies of the book -- particularly the Chinese version -- that may be sneaked into the country next month.

A three-hour long video entitled "The Test of History," which contains the official version of events leading up to the crackdown, is also been shown to cadres in different Beijing units.

At a Central Level Work Meeting held in late February, Jiang called upon party cadres to rally behind the official verdict on the "counter-revolutionary turmoil."

Professor Andrew Nathan, a Columbia University sinologist who is a co-editor of the Papers, said he stood by the authenticity of the documents.

"Not only am I confident in the authenticity of the documents, but the unfolding political reaction in Beijing, including the recently reported Central Level Work Conference, demonstrates the documents are authentic," Nathan said.

"Otherwise, Beijing wouldn't have felt so threatened by their publication."

The America-based author of the book, who goes under the pseudonym Zhang Liang, reportedly had access to top-level documents before he left China.

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