Zhang Meiyuan

Zhang Meiyuan (; born November 1937) was a major general in the People's Liberation Army of China who served as commander of the 38th Group Army from 1989 to 1994 and commander of the Qinghai Military District from 1993 to 1996. He was a member of the 14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and is infamous for leading the 38th during the Tiananmen Square Massacre after replacing General Xu Qinxian, who refused to carry out orders by the ruling Politburo of the Communist Party and the Eight Elders to impose martial law on Beijing.

Biography Zhang was born in Bazhong County (now Bazhong), Sichuan Province, in November 1937 during the Chinese Civil War. This was also the same province which future Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping hailed from. He enlisted in the People's Liberation Army Ground Forces (PLA) in January 1955, and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in August 1958. He graduated from the PLA Jinzhou Infantry School and the PLA Military Academy.

Zhang was promoted to deputy commander of the People's Liberation Army in 1987. In June 1989, he was promoted again to become commander, succeeding Xu Qinxian, who was court-martialed, jailed for five years and expelled from the CCP due to refuse the order to use force against demonstrators in Beijing during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. He led his men to suppress the students in Beijing, which played an important role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. He also served as commander of the Qinghai Military District from 1993 to 1996. In May 1996, he was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Lanzhou Military Region, in addition to serving as deputy secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission. He attained the rank of major general (shaojiang) in September 1988. Due to the sensitivity of the event, any mention of him has been officially removed from public memory by government censors.