SITREP NO. 10: VIEW OF TIANANMEN SQUARE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 14103 CINCPAC FOR FPA E.O. 12356:DECL:OADR TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI CH SUBJECT: SITREP NO. 10: VIEW OF TIANANMEN SQUARE ¶1. CONFIDENTIAL - ENTIRE TEXT. ¶2. POLOFFS VIEWED TIANANMEN SQUARE THE MORNING OF MAY 22 FROM 1000 TO 1100 HOURS LOCAL. NO TROOPS WERE ANYWHERE IN SIGHT. NO BUSSES WERE RUNNING, BUT PEOPLE APPEARED TO BE MAKING THEIR WAY TO WORK. POLOFFS ESTIMATED THAT THERE WERE FEWER THAN 10,000 STUDENTS INSIDE THE INNER SQUARE ITSELF AND SOME 40,000 PEOPLE, INCLUDING ONLOOKERS, IN THE AREA. ¶3. DEMONSTRATING STUDENTS APPEARED TIRED, DIRTY, AND GRIM. SOME LOOKED ILL. POLOFFS OBSERVED SEVERAL STUDENTS ON IV'S. THERE WERE CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS AS TO HOW MANY STUDENTS WERE STILL FASTING. ONE STUDENT SAID NONE, BUT MEDICAL SUPPORT STAFF SAID THERE WERE STILL SOME 50 TO 100 FASTING STUDENTS. THE INNER SQUARE, WHICH POLOFFS ENTERED, WAS FOUL- SMELLING AND NASTY IN APPEARANCE, WITH GARBAGE AND LITTER EVERYWHERE. THE STUDENTS REMAINING IN THE SQUARE ITSELF APPEARED TO BE THE DETERMINED HARD CORE OF THE DEMONSTRATORS. ALL STUDENTS EXPRESSED CONFIDENCE THAT TROOPS WOULD NOT COME BECAUSE THE STUDENTS HAD THE SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE. ¶4. STUDENTS WERE EAGER TO TALK TO FOREIGNERS. THREE STUDENTS SEPARATELY TOLD POLOFFS THEY WERE DISAPPOINTED THAT U.S. EXPRESSIONS OF SUPPORT FOR THE STUDENTS HAD NOT BEEN STRONGER. THEY SPECIFICALLY CITED PRESIDENT BUSH'S STATEMENT AS REPORTED ON THE VOICE OF AMERICA THE MORNING OF MAY 22. ¶5. THREE BUSSES IN THE SQUARE FACING NORTH TOWARD THE PORTRAIT OF CHAIRMAN MAO (ABOVE THE ENTRANCE TO THE FORBIDDEN CITY) ALL BORE PICTURES OF LI PENG AS A RAT BEING POUNCED ON BY AN EAGLE REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE. LILLEY