This guy: I was only 9 when the Tiananmen Square event took place so really I don't remember much of what was happening back then but recently have been reading up on the heroics of the people that participated back when it happened. The photo above is probably the most famous from the event but I have not been able to find any information on what happened to the brave man in this photo.
From a 1998 BBC article... ______________ Tiananmen 'tank man' still at large The unknown protester brought an entire line of tanks to a halt The lone Chinese protester who brought a column of tanks to a standstill in Tiananmen Square during the 1989 crackdown was never arrested and is still at large, a Hong Kong-based dissident group has said. Seven hundren people were killed in the Tiananmen Square crackdown However, the most memorable images are of a young man, carrying what appears to be a shopping bag, who refused to move out of the way of the advancing tanks. He then climbed onto the leading tank and spoke to the driver. The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy Movement in China says it has obtained official documents that show the Chinese government does not know what happened to him. Although the man was initially identified as Wang Weilin, the documents suggest the name was false. In response to an inquiry, President Jiang Zemin is said to have blamed journalists for giving authorities the wrong name. The Chinese government gave up looking for the man after checking lists of the dead and imprisoned. Time magazine has cited the unidentified protester as one of the "top 20 leaders and revolutionaries" of the 20th century. Dubbing him "the Unknown Rebel," the American news journal said his moment of fame was seen by more people than laid eyes on Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein and James Joyce combined. Chinese authorities sent tanks into Tiananmen Square in the early hours of June 4, 1989 to break up an extended demonstration by Chinese student activists. Several hundred people were reported to have been killed. China has never admitted publicly that there were any deaths as a result of the crackdown.
That was a wild time in the world. I had just graduated high school, and I'm living in the dorm in Lubbock, and suddenly the whole world was changing. Kids my age were protesting in an effort to get some of the freedoms that came naturally to me. And then the tanks roll in, and these kids stood strong, even though it likely meant death. And during the same time period, we were seeing the "evil empire" starting to crumble. The Iron Curtain was falling. In a few months, we'd watch as people danced on the Berlin Wall. And a couple of years later, we saw the Soviet Union cease to be. The enemy we had fought for decades was gone in an instant. Not with bombs like we always thought would be the way it ended, but because the people there wanted it to be gone. It just seemed like anything was possible at that point.
i'd just like to echo what mrpaige said... everything you understood about world order seemingly changed overnight. the whole "us v. them" stuff...the big evil sinister threat of communism....all of it just fell apart. and so quickly and unexpectedly. at least that was MY perception of it at the time. i remember it was my sophomore year of high school when the berlin wall came down...and talking about it in world geography. a handful of us were interested...and i remember the teacher's reaction to it all was just a state of awe. watching the tv screen and just shaking her head in disbelief. it really was quite amazing.
In July of 2002 my father took the whole family to China so we could see his homeland (my mother is American of English, Irish and Belgium decent). It was a terrific trip and one of the things that impressed me most was how capitalistic it was. It seemed as if EVERYONE was trying to sell you something. For the most part, we never felt we were in a Communist country. However, one of the places on our agenda was Tiananmen square. Before we got there our tour guide (who was probably in his mid-20's) asked us if we had heard about events that happened there in the late 80's. We said of course we had. He went on to say that we should not talk about those events while we are visiting the square because the government has people there listening for such talk. He then told us that if we did have any questions to ask him after we got back onto our bus. My sister asked him how many people died and he replied "I can only tell you what the government says and that is that nobody died." It was the only time during our entire stay that I observed any kind of government repression. He also said that in China instead of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" they say "crouching Lewinski, hidden cigar" which I thought was pretty funny.
But 1989 was the first time I felt that way. To me, though, it's not as impressive if it requires the United States Marines to change the government. When it's a natural outpouring of the populace, it can change my perception of the people who live there. I always knew the U.S. military was against Saddam Hussein. I honestly didn't know what the opinion of the average Russian or East German was. I grew up being told that the Russians were my enemy, yet when the Soviet Union fell, it became clear that the Russians themselves were not really any different than I am. There was no reason to hate them personally. By and large, they didn't want anything different than what I want in life. It's like if Iran is finally able to come out from under the theocratic regime from the inside like the reformers have been trying (with limited success so far) it would mean that the Iranians are ready to extend the freedoms to their people among themselves rather than being thrust into the situation with the help of the U.S. military. To an extent, seeing Lybia starting to give up their history as a rogue state is heartening, as well, though it's obviously just a step along the way. It's nice to see people like Saddam Hussein taken from power. He was quite obviously not a nice guy and it's unlikely that change could ever come as long as he was in charge. However, since it was the U.S. that did it, it's always hard to gauge where the heart and mind of the average Iraqi is.
Come on, basso... Are you really trying to equate the fall of Iraq to the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War?
are you just willfully obtuse? i was referring to tianamen square. no, they're not the same, but, in the "anything is possible" spirit in the original post there's a certain synchonicity.
There is a WORLD of difference between Tianamen Square and the fall of Iraq even. "Anything is possible" would refer to something that would appear difficult to accomplish. Invading Iraq and toppling the statues of Saddam was comparatively very easy and doesn't even APPROACH "anything is possible."
yawn...whay does eveything have to be a debate? "anything is possible"="changing the world." toppling saddam did that.
Gimme a break. The equivalent for Iraq and China would be for the US to invade China on behalf of a couple of dissidents who have lived in the West for the past twenty years, and have US troops tear down some representation of Mao. Hey those Chinese already have WMD, and Islamic terrorists are bound to live somewhere in China, the Bushies need no other excuse.
Although the Tianemen Square incident is probably the exception. Because it demonstrated that apparently, not everything is possible. My parents(who both spent their first 30 years in China) are very critical of the premier(Jian Zhe Min) who came to power after the incident. Saying how he moved China a step backward. Making the transition to free market economy in a slow and painful manner. If you go beyond the tourist attractions, I can guarantee you that communism in China is alive and well. It's just not as blatant as it used to be, as the appearances must be kept up. I grew up in the US, but still have 1/2 of my relatives in China. Talking to them, I saw a China that's becoming more free market in theory, but the application is where things are messed up. Too much corruption. A similar story. I passed by Tiananmen Square on day in Beijing. The path to the Square was blocked and guarded, which I found surprising. Since there wasn't any sort of construction project that I can see going on. I asked the friend with me, who goes to college in Beijing. She promptly reminded me that it's June 3rd. I still didn't realize what it meant, and she whispered that it's the day before June 4th.
How did I know you'd woof some anti-American horsepuckey into a mainly positive thread? You're easier to read than Jessica Simpson's autobiography. I remember the fall of Communism as a young Marine. One second, we're ready to go to war with the Sovs any second, then the Berlin Wall fell. The Tiannamen massacre was proof positive that Communist regimes are by their very nature evil. It's the fact that American liberals can't see that is amazing.
I often wonder about that brave person who stood up for what he believed. Right or wrong, his stand was simply awe-inspiring. I wish I had his courage.
in reality it was the end to civil protests for democracy there have been no major protests since then nor have there been attempts to have major protests like that.
its dictatorial/authoritarian regimes that are evil. if you didn't know the regime under chiang kai-shek(sp?) wasn't very nice either to the chinese or the taiwanese.
It's amazing that you can make up someone else's feelings on a subject without any input from that person, blend it to make it fit your argument perfectly, than condemn the person for having such a foolish opinion. You still didn't rebut the analogy. .
