TANK MAN

Tank Man

How many of us remember the image of that solitary willowy figure of a man—seemingly an ordinary man--performing an extraordinary death-defying act, standing doggedly without moving in front of a threatening line of heavy tanks in Tia’anmen Square.

It was the night of June 4, 1989, the night of the heavy guns and the massacre of innocents. On that night, what had been a peaceful protest by college students and sympathizers had turned bloody. And the victims were women, children and students.

Yet, despite bullets reverberating all over the Square and the strong-arm evidence of the Chinese military, this lone individual, his name unknown, stood unafraid and unbowed, and by so doing became an icon to the rest of humanity conveying the message that it was possible for an invincible chain of steel to be broken by one man consumed by a noble purpose.

By his simple act of resistance what was transmitted from neuron to neuron around the world in the virtual blink of an eye was that even in the face of oppression, change was possible. And that was all it took. Because resulting from that solitary and magnificent gesture, the world did change. Inspired by Tank Man, the youth of Russia moved against steel and bullets to bring down their own wall, a long time symbol of oppression and there was no going back.

Postscript: According to the record, the man was later identified, captured and three days later executed. The story was published in a London journal and attributed to a reporter stationed in Beijing. For most of us, that was the end game.

On Front Line, however, the reporter to whom the story was attributed stated unequivocally that he had never written the story placed under his name.. Why?
The reporter said it is a fairly common occurrence to plant stories that are written by staff or others and identify them with the location of the story for enhanced credibility. And he thought that perhaps American government officials had endorsed it. This seemed the consensus of others more closely involved with the massacre and the US’ position towards it..

But why?

If the reporter’s suggestion is anywhere near accurate, it could be that the story was posted to accommodate China’s demands or perhaps for other reasons that we may never get to the bottom of…

To this day, the Chinese government has never confronted this issue, and even the Premier when interviewed by Barbara Walters recently, claimed that he knew nothing about this man who stopped the tanks. The photograph was only shown once on Chinese TV just after the massacre ended to prove to the viewing public that the Chinese Army exercised great restraint in its actions against the people. After that date, it was never shown again.

The original photographer of that picture that has been indelibly imprinted in our psyches, was housed in a hotel adjoining the site and watching the unfolding drama. And the mystery man then stepped out and challenged the tanks. He photographed the incident; but knowing he was being watched secreted the film. True to form, the “Minders” moved in, broke down his door and physically took the film not knowing that the specific roll they were after had been previously secreted.. When the photographer returned to the room later, he found the film and the rest is history. .

Today, in approaching the 16th Anniversary of Tia’anmen Square, the country smolders.

While a minority of entrepreneurs has grown rich beyond imaging, the rank and file live in overarching poverty under the humblest of conditions.

It has been suggested by scholars of China that another clash between an unapologetic government that has never come face-to-face with the events of June 4, and the people is virtually inevitable and , according to these sources, the resentment builds day by day.

However, students at Beijing University when confronted with a photo of Tank Man were unable to comprehend the event from the photograph shown them meaning that, for the most part, the average college student today in China is totally unfamiliar with the events of that day that the rest of the world can never erase from their memories.

Les Aaron
The Hubmaster