At Least 10,000 Killed During the Tiananmen Square Massacre, According to Secret Diplomatic Cable

A student displays a banner among the crowd of some 200,000 who poured into Tiananmen Square on April 22, 1989. The April-June 1989 movement was crushed by Chinese troops who killed at least 10,000 people, a secret British diplomatic cable has alleged. Catherine Henriette/AFP/Getty Images

At least 10,000 people were killed during the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989 a secret British diplomatic cable has alleged, citing a source within the Chinese communist regime.

An unnamed high level source from the Chinese State Council provided the death count, via an intermediary, to Alan Donald, Britain’s ambassador to China at the time.