TOKYO -- Chinese President Xi Jinping was 35 when the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown took place.
He was the top official of Ningde, a city in Fujian Province.

The Tiananmen incident taught Xi Jinping to keep his political opponents pinned down. (Nikkei Montage/AFP/Jiji)
Eliminate enemies, keep party elders at bay and never become Zhao Ziyang