The man emerged from nowhere, seized a moment of history, and disappeared again. He became a symbol for the pro-democracy movem
ent in China, with his image appearing on televisions and in print around the world. Yet we know almost nothing about the man people have come to call "Tank Man." Here's what we do know.
On the morning of June 5, 1989, a man was walking beside Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, carrying groceries. Anti-government protests had been ongoing in the Square for weeks. The protestors lacked a single leader or cause, but among their demands were democratic and economic reforms. The night before, the Chinese government had increased the violence of its response, using weapons, tear gas, and tanks in an effort to put an end to the uprising. Many protestors were killed or wounded.
The smell of smoke from the previous night still drifted in the air as the man walked. He heard a rumble, growing louder. As he watched, a long row of tanks appeared, 18 in all. It was a massive show of force, an unmistakable warning to anyone who might dare oppose China's government. Rather than stand by as the tanks rolled past, this man—who would become known to the world as Tank Man—decided to stand in their path.
Observers, many of them members of the press, were stunned. Here was a lone individual, apparently just done shopping, dressed in plain white shirt and black pants, challenging this fearsome demonstration of China's military might. Cameras began snapping pictures as onlookers worried the tank would run the man down.
As the first tank attempted to steer around him, the man repeatedly moved back into its path, until the tank stopped and turned off its motor. As a crowd gathered, the man climbed onto the tank. He held a conversation with someone inside, but no reporter heard what was said.
Finally, the man climbed down and the tank restarted its engine. But as it moved forward, the man once again stepped in front. This time the standoff was short-lived, as two unidentified people arrived to lead the man away. He was never heard from again.
The Chinese government claimed it had no idea who Tank Man was or what happened to him, but theories abound. Some say he was arrested by government agents. Others say it was friends who pulled him away and that he went into hiding.
Although Tank Man may have disappeared, his courageous act of civil disobedience lives on, captured by photographers. One of them was Charlie Cole, a photographer for a popular news magazine. Cole hid the film when his hotel room was searched by Chinese police, who confiscated all the other film they could find.
Cole was quick to credit all the journalists and photographers who covered the event, but it was his photo of Tank Man that captured the world's attention. His was the lens that allowed Tank Man to shine a light on the Chinese government's harshness for the world to see.
No cameras captured Tank Man's face, so we will never know who he is. He will never be personally recognized for his heroism. In fact, because of the tight control of the media in China, he may not even know that his actions made him an enduring symbol of peaceful resistance to oppression around the world. summary for it
