​Li Peng, the butcher of Tiananmen, has died

The former prime minister, 90, led the massacre of 4 June 1989. He always defended his actions - costing the lives of thousands of people - calling it "a necessary step".

Beijing (AsiaNews) - Li Peng, known as "The butcher of Tiananmen Square", died yesterday at his home in Beijing due to an unspecified illness. The Chinese state media confirm this today. Li, 90, was at the top of the People's Republic of China in the 1980s and 1990s of the last century: it was he who ordered martial law to stop the 1989 street protests.

The politician has always defended his choice, costing the lives of thousands of people, calling it "a necessary step" to maintain China's stability. Furthermore, he has always maintained that the decision came directly from Deng Xiaoping.

Li, born in Chengdu, was the son of one of the first members of the Chinese Communist Party. On the death of his father, shot by the Kuomintang nationalists, he was adopted by Zhou Enlai. In 1945, at the age of 17, he entered the CCP and was sent to Moscow to complete his technical studies.

In 1979 he became Deputy Minister of Heavy Industry; in 1981 he was promoted to minister.

In 1982 he joined the CCP Central Committee. In 1985 he was promoted to the Political Bureau and to the Secretariat. Although he is not a reformist, he works closely with the then supreme leader Deng Xiaoping, who appointed him prime minister in 1987. He will hold the office for two terms. He had retired from political life in 2002.