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There are also details of this story that are significant for anyone interested in China's Party-army relations, as @ChuBailiang notes. Her account provides further details about how military commanders initially attempted to resist orders to use armed force against protesters.
At the time, Chinese leaders were deeply divided on how to respond. Jiang Lin was involved in spreading word of a letter from senior generals who opposed the imposition of martial law and confirmed details about other letters from commanders who warned against the use of force.
“How could fate suddenly turn so that you could use tanks and machine guns against ordinary people?” she said. “To me, it was madness.” How many in the PLA today are still haunted by such memories?
This story is also a powerful reminder of how contingent the tragedy in Tiananmen was. The use of force was not the likely or inevitable outcome from the start. Deng Xiaoping made and imposed this decision despite strong resistance from some senior military leaders. 
@JosephTorigian's research on elite politics, including Deng Xiaoping's personal authority, is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the power struggles behind this moment. warontherocks.com/2017/01/the-sh…
By Jiang Lin's account, the division between CCP and PLA leadership at the time could be characterized as coming down to a question of whether the PLA is the people's army or the Party's army. Deng's decision determined the latter.
Today, Xi Jinping too has made clear that the PLA is the Party's army, not a national military, and must obey its "absolute leadership." When we talk about Chinese military modernization today, that reality must be recognized.
Jiang Lin's courage for telling her story is incredible, and she describes how she was compelled to come forward by the failure of subsequent generations of Chinese leaders to admit that what happened in Tiananmen was a tragedy and mistake. Her final comment is haunting.
