Document 18: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, SITREP No. 35: June 6, 0500 Hours (June 5, 1989)Two days after the crackdown, this report from the U.S. Embassy stated that a western military attaché had told the U.S. military representative that one PLA unit, the 27thArmy, "was responsible for most of the death and destruction at Tiananmen Square on June 3." The 27th, the cable notes, was commanded by the nephew of PRC President Yang Shangkun, a noted hardliner, and was even accused of killing "soldiers from other units run over by the 27th APC's and tanks." The document also indicates that a large contingent of soldiers from the 27th had taken up position on a highway overpass, "and seem poised for attack by other PLA units."
