Former Chinese Premier Li Peng, "Beijing Butcher," has passed away

Former Chinese Premier Li Peng, nicknamed "the butcher of Beijing" In 1989, because of his responsibility for suppressing protests in Tiananmen Square, he died at age 90.

"He died Monday, July 23, 2019 at 11:15 pm from an illness whose treatment has proven ineffective," the official Xinhua news agency said.

Li, who held this post from 1987 to 1998, ordered the army – with the approval of the country's then leader, Deng Xiaoping – to put an end to the Tiananmen protests in favor of of democracy. Military they killed hundreds of unarmed civilians, more than 1,000 according to some estimates.

His role in restoring order at that time had been praised this Tuesday by the Chinese government agency.

"During the political riots of spring and summer 1989 (…), comrade Li Peng (…) he took decisive action to end the disorder and appease the counterrevolutionary riots"commented the agency.

Although the decision to send the troops was collective, Li was considered responsible for the bloody crackdown.

The former prime minister often defended the decision to shoot the protests as a "necessary" step.

"Without this measure, China would have faced a worse situation than in the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe," he said at a news conference. tour in Austria in 1994.