Thirty years ago a lone Chinese protester blocked a line of tanks heading east on Beijing’s Cangan Blvd. June 5, 1989 in front of the Beijing Hotel one days after the Tiananmen massacre. Cameras and videos captured the young man’s defiance of governmental power.
Steel versus flesh.
After a conversation with the driver of the first tank, security forces hustled him away into the crowd. He has never been seen since and his identity remains a mystery, although some journalists have reported that his name was Wang Weilin, a 19-year-old student, who was later charged with “political hooliganism” and “attempting to subvert members of the People’s Liberation Army”. This claim has been refuted by many sources as have reports that Tank Man was executed by a firing squad several months after the incident.
“I can’t confirm whether this young man you mentioned was arrested or not.” said a CCP secretary, leading to rumors that the young man is hiding on the mainland.
Whatever the truth the world owes this man the greatest honor for his courage in standing for truth along with the thousands of students in Tiananmen Square. Their memory has been obscured by the Communist Party and the two months of protests ignored by the young of China.
They don’t want a revolution.
They only want iPhones.
Same as the rest of the world.
We can’t have everything.
But I honor the man on the tank.
Watch this video;
One man against the power of the state.
Tankman is my hero.