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459 Comments
- jboitnott, on 06/04/2009, -15/+692One of the most iconic moments in the history of mankind. May every person living and born in China (and in the rest of the world) remember him for all time.
- clarionhaze, on 06/04/2009, -10/+674biggest balls ever.
- made2k, on 06/04/2009, -15/+606to all who are saying this pic is "old" or "why post something like this now"... its the 20th anniversary today. this pic/event happened June 4th, 1989.
- iDoraemon, on 06/04/2009, -8/+396Often people talk about the man in front of the tank as a hero, but the front tank driver should also be considered a hero in a sense. Think about it. The guy in the tank probably would have had orders to run over him or simply disregard him during the demonstration, and the tank driver probably was not aware of the cameras filming him. But instead of doing any of that, he decides to not do anything.
After this incident, what may have definitely happened to the tank driver would be that he would have been severely disciplined by his commander for disobeying orders or something. And not just a slap in the wrist, but some sort of severe punishment. But the lead tank driver chose not to run over the guy in front of him, despite his comrades firing at students demonstrators with disregard.
I hate the Chinese government from then, and my feelings haven't really changed. But for the tank driver to not do anything despite knowing the consequences of his non-action? That's pretty heroic, too. - JakeBC, on 06/04/2009, -2/+303Unfortunately he is completely unknown in China. Very few people in China even know about what happened at Tienanmen Square. It's up to the rest of the world to remember him. I know I always will.
- decker12, on 06/04/2009, -67/+334I know I've seen this picture somewhere before... hmm... can't quite place it...
Oh yeah, for the past 20 years it's been printed over and over again in every article about human rights abuse and almost every article about the Chinese government. - blapierre, on 06/04/2009, -6/+227TCP/IP being used on ARPANET in 1983. Tank Man was 1989.
Sorry, Internet is older than Tank Man. - ai52487963, on 06/04/2009, -10/+180This guy cares more about freedom than a large percentage of the U.S. does.
- lololol1, on 06/04/2009, -112/+248Older than the internet
- Khiva, on 06/05/2009, -4/+123It's wrong to say that people in China are completely ignorant of Tiananmen - its widely known simply at "6-4," and just about everyone is aware that something or other happened that day. The problem isn't that people haven't heard about it, its that they've been successfully convinced of one or all of the following things:
1) Whatever happened, it couldn't have been that bad
2) Western people only talk about it not because they have any interest in human rights, but because they are jealous just want to hurt China any way they can (that goes for all you shallow diggers and your ravenous anti-China agenda, shame on you for digging this photo)
3) To the extent that it was bad, it was instigated by anti-government forces who probably deserved it
I've written this before, but the greatest tragedy of Tiananmen was, in my humble opinion, that the government decided that the best response was to strangle civil society. Though considerably less wealthy relative to today, China in eighties was a far more lively and free place in the eighties, a place where you could encounter plenty of differences of opinion. Deciding that all this diversity had led to dangerous unpredictability, the Chinese government launched the "patriotic education" campaign to cram propaganda down the throats of every young soul starting from the tenderest young age. The result is an angry nationalistic mainland marching in lockstep, convinced that the world is out to get them, convinced that any deviancy from the basic propaganda amounts to a betrayal of China.
I know a guy that tried to show his Chinese girlfriend the PBS Frontline documentary about Tank Man. Not only had she never seen the iconic photo (most Chinese haven't), she just got pissed off that "American Propaganda" PBS "only told lies to hurt China." People underestimate how unnervingly successful the CCP has been in handling the Tiananmen issue. Not only have they convinced the people that it wasn't a big deal, but they've also managed to convince people that anyone trying to tell them otherwise can only possibly be hiding evil intent. Its like trying to show a photo of torture at Abu Ghraib to a hardcore Fox News-brainwashed robot - first they'll chant that its not a big deal, and then if you press them they'll just change the subject by shrieking that you "hate America!" The psychology is exactly the same.
Look, I get why a lot of people hate America, particularly given that about a third of the country consists of these unfathomable people. I don't mean to beat the drum about this, nor do I think that xenophobia is the proper counter to nationalism, but does it bother NO ONE that the country poised to eclipse the United States consists of about 90% of these sorts of people? - WombleSlayer, on 06/04/2009, -7/+116This man is an inspiration to us all. Standing up for his beliefs.
- JakeBC, on 06/04/2009, -5/+105Video. Still gives me chills.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-nXT8lSnPQ - Fruetel, on 06/04/2009, -2/+97He wasn't run over. He had a discussion with the tank driver, then was reported to be drawn away by bystanders.
- SkippyDoorknob, on 06/04/2009, -4/+86Yeah, but it's in the news again now because it's the 20th anniversary
- kurupttek, on 06/04/2009, -53/+134I make love to sweet gay men every night!
nobody will read this - waynefoolx, on 06/04/2009, -5/+85The real shame is that most young people in China (>30) have no idea who this guy was, or what happened in Beijing 20 years ago, b/c of the CP's suppression of any discussion about the protests/massacre. Digg it up so maybe someone in China will come across this.
- Phrea, on 06/04/2009, -2/+79I actually feel sorry for your dumb ass.
It was big news a long time ago, and again in the news now due to the fact that this is 20 years ago tomorrow.
Try reading. - sunspots22, on 06/04/2009, -21/+89Literally
- devansega, on 06/04/2009, -2/+70Totally agree. Remember the Russian attempted coup and the Ruski soldiers who refused to attack Yeltsin and the civilians around him, In fact they switched sides and defended him. Brave men.
- yaysanta, on 06/04/2009, -1/+66Timeless.
- avatarpalin, on 06/04/2009, -4/+69What happened to him afterwards? I have heard stories of that he was taken away and never seen again....
(checking Wikipedia) ....
British tabloid the Sunday Express named the man as Wang Weilin (王维林), a 19-year-old student[6] who was later charged with "political hooliganism" and "attempting to subvert members of the People's Liberation Army;"[7] however, the veracity of this claim is dubious. Numerous rumors have sprung up as to the man's identity and current whereabouts, but none are backed by hard evidence.[citation needed]
There are several conflicting stories about what happened to him after the demonstration. In a speech to the President's Club in 1999, Bruce Herschensohn—former deputy special assistant to President of the United States Richard Nixon—reported that he was executed 14 days later;[citation needed] other sources say he was killed by firing squad a few months after the Tiananmen Square protests.[5] In Red China Blues: My Long March from Mao to Now, Jan Wong writes that the man is still alive and is hiding in mainland China. - CrazyArcher, on 06/04/2009, -4/+60I read it.
- c0mputar, on 06/04/2009, -1/+55Because there is a widely available video of the entire incident that you can find everywhere on the internet?
- Krakerjax, on 06/05/2009, -1/+52One of the biggest balled men of our time, and the best name we can come up with is "Tank Man"?
- PhillyOC, on 06/04/2009, -1/+52Good point. I never really thought about that.
- Rain12913, on 06/04/2009, -3/+53This is one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century you godamn fool, it's well known what happened following that image. Do some research on it.
- Chordonblue, on 06/04/2009, -3/+47...and remember him to the current generation of Chinese. Sucks that they can't learn their own history.
- ptsuk, on 06/04/2009, -2/+42Fontline did a whole episode on him, what might have happened to him, where he might be today if he's alive. Also they talk to people and they ask what he means to them. Its a good view and i think the entire episode can be found here for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/
enjoy! - Noein, on 06/05/2009, -0/+38Also let's not forget Xu QianXian, the 38th Army Commander who refused to carry out martial law order and was arrested and court-martialled. Or the soldiers from 28th Army that refused to obey orders to fire upon students, going as far as opening fire on the helicopter that was giving the order. There were many unsung heroes.
- fattehboi, on 06/04/2009, -9/+46it's the ***** 20th anniversary you cockhead
- JakeBC, on 06/04/2009, -2/+36Yes, today is the 20th anniversary.
- SpinningHead, on 06/04/2009, -1/+35What they often do is use troops from different regions that are known for hating the people in the region they are sent to police. Its like sending in a West Virginia militia to police Harlem. Very smart and very evil.
- bitterbug, on 06/05/2009, -5/+37For only a few moments he was more free than any other person on the planet.
- sanman, on 06/05/2009, -6/+37Umm, I think Tank Man was obviously born before 1983, so he had to be older than the internet.
- thethunderbird, on 06/04/2009, -3/+33People's Army my ass.
- NavS, on 06/05/2009, -1/+30@Steve
Chinese students in the biggest university in China don't know about what happened at Tienanmen Square... There's a documentary on it. Very few people know what happened. - jasmeetsb, on 06/04/2009, -0/+28@Speedstix: When Armstrong landed on Moon, most of us were not even born.
So next you would be saying that he was eaten up by the aliens unless you go by what was "Reported"
What Fuetel said was widely reported in the newspapers. Go read!
And stop being a whiny kid. - Jarasmen, on 06/04/2009, -9/+35BALLS OF STEEL.
- inactive, on 06/04/2009, -2/+28Not really.
- idavidtang, on 06/04/2009, -15/+41Tiananmen Square (Anti-Tank) Rebel
+30 Evasion
30 second Disable on tanks (active AoE ability) - McMahon9, on 06/04/2009, -27/+52I'm going to go ahead and say this is a cheap way to get diggs.
- ken830, on 06/05/2009, -0/+25Never-before seen shot of "Tank Man" at street-level:
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/behind-th ... - damnshoes, on 06/04/2009, -0/+25i'd like to believe he is still alive.
- cornelje, on 06/05/2009, -2/+27My girlfriend lived in the US for over a year and never knew about it. When I explained everything to her she cried about it. Finding out for the first time that your country has done horrible things can be upsetting.
- masamunecyrus, on 06/04/2009, -2/+27That's because the human rights abuse in China hasn't stopped, the rest of the world has just been desensitized to it.
To be fair, their places on the Human Rights Index had been improving for many years, albeit very slowly, but it went down this past year. - thehoodie, on 06/05/2009, -0/+24Oh *****, people were killed just outside the square? That makes everything so much better!
/s
Murder is murder, no matter where it happens. These people need to be remembered for all eternity. - iDoraemon, on 06/05/2009, -0/+24They are. But honestly, like the fate of the Tank Man himself, we'll probably never know the truth.
- ptsuk, on 06/04/2009, -0/+24Fontline did a whole episode on him, what might have happened to him, where he might be today if he's alive. Also they talk to people and they ask what he means to them. Its a good view and i think the entire episode can be found here for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/
enjoy! - SteveMTyler, on 06/04/2009, -4/+28maybe in rural china, but I really doubt that in modern urban areas.
Chinese people are everywhere, and go back to china a lot. And tourists visit, etc...
The great firewall isn't really perfect. - Tsukiakari, on 06/05/2009, -0/+23Accidentally showing off your blatant idiocy followed by a comment made in an attempt to redeem yourself is even more fun.
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