Pro-democracy demonstrators raise their fists and flash victory signs as they stop a military truck on its way to Tiananmen Square on May 20, 1989. Photo: AFP

The Tiananmen crackdown ignited a decade of debate on the Chinese military’s role, and where its loyalties should lie

The PLA started out as a part of the Communist Party and continues to be so despite internal calls to nationalise

Topic | 40 years of reform and opening up

Minnie Chan

Published: 6:40am, 7 Dec, 2018

Updated: 12:23pm, 8 Dec, 2018

Pro-democracy demonstrators raise their fists and flash victory signs as they stop a military truck on its way to Tiananmen Square on May 20, 1989. Photo: AFP

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Minnie Chan

Minnie Chan is an award-winning journalist, specialising in reporting on defence and diplomacy in China. Her coverage of the US EP-3 spy plane crash with a PLA J-8 in 2001 near the South China Sea opened her door to the military world. Since then, she has had several scoops relating to China's military development. She has been at the Post since 2005 and has a master's in international public affairs from The University of Hong Kong.