Almost everyone in the world is familiar with the photograph of the man stood in front of four tanks following the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. It’s widely regarded as being one of the most famous and iconic photographs of the 20th century (and therefore, of course, of all time).
But the event was nearly 25 years ago now, so how many people fully understand the events of the protests and the significance of this photo? That’s what I’m going to cover now, so that the next time you book a cruise on the River Yangtze and you pay a visit to the square, you understand the history of where you stand.
Now straight away I’ll say that this isn’t a comprehensive guide to the events of the protest – this would require as much room as a whole book and a deep knowledge of Chinese politics at the time. But I can give you an overview.
The event took place on the morning of the fourth of June, and is colloquially referred to in the country as ‘June Fourth’, in the same way that the Twin Tower attacks has become known simply by the name September 11th.
The basic version of events is as follows: there were two main political viewpoints in China at the time, those who wanted to maintain the socialist structure of the country and the democratic revolutionaries who followed Hu Yaobang, a politician who was forced to resign after being blamed for mishandling student protests that spread throughout the country.
Just two years after his resignation, Hu Yaobang died of a heart attack, which sent shockwaves through the student communities. This led to student groups meeting to mourn, before turning these gatherings into protests of their own, with thousands of students marching on Tiananmen Square.
By mid-May, it was estimated that around 300,000 students were gathered, and hunger strikes began in the knowledge that Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Leader at the time, was scheduled to visit and the world’s media would be focused on the nation.
The hunger strikes helped to galvanise nationwide opinion and other protests were held featuring over a million people. As such, towards the end of May, martial law was declared, and military forces were mobilised to reach Tiananmen Square. The students refused to leave and on the night of 3rd June into the morning of the 4th, violence broke out with the military opening fire on the crowds not just in the square but also whilst on the roads en route. Many civilians were injured or killed as they were shot in the back, trying to escape. Despite this, many of the students refused to use violent methods to defend themselves, and confiscated weapons from others.
To this day there are no official numbers for the death and injury toll, mainly due to the cover up that the Chinese government has implemented that sees all mentions of 4th June censored in the country. Various figures have been reported ranging from 100 civilian deaths and a handful of soldiers to numbers in the tens of thousands.
For the record, the photo of ‘tank man’ was taken on 5th June, as the protestor tried to stop tanks from leaving the square. It’s not known what happened to him, whether he escaped, or was arrested or even killed.
It’s definitely food for thought when you visit the area on a Yangtze River Cruise, making for a truly poignant excursion.
By Ian Lewis
Google