"The Tank Man"

[AxlsMainMan]

What do you think of this photograph?

I think its both incredible and heartbreaking at the same time.

Truly insane how nobody knows the identity of the Tank Man, or if he's still alive.

[freedom78]

Truly insane how nobody knows the identity of the Tank Man, or if he's still alive.

I have my doubts about him having lived through the week, after that one.  Sad, but true.  But, in case I'm wrong, rock on, tank man!

[AxlsMainMan]

Truly insane how nobody knows the identity of the Tank Man, or if he's still alive.

I have my doubts about him having lived through the week, after that one.? Sad, but true.? But, in case I'm wrong, rock on, tank man!

There was a PBS special just on TV about him, and one person that was interviewed said it most certainly looked like civilians that hurried him away, and not military or government goons.

One dude also said that his real name doesn't even need to be uncovered because the stand he took is what truly matters, and his influence will live on forever.

Truly heartbreaking though.

Really kills me to see a country suffering from communist assholes

[stolat]

There is an image very similar to that from Poland in the 80s when the Solidarity movement was building momentum. Poland was under 'Russian' martial law. Tanks on the streets and tear gas/water canons was a common site.

I actually saw footage of a man being run over by a tank......but he did survive.

[SLCPUNK]

That photo is awesome.

[freedom78]

That photo is awesome.

I agree.  There's so much symbolism in it, and not just freedom vs. oppression.  Look how one man stopped four tanks, because they can't think outside the box enough to simply go around.  Now, I KNOW (from the video) that the lead tank tried numerous times to go around, and he simply moved in front of him...but he couldn't POSSIBLY stop FOUR tanks from running around his flank!  They represent a very ordered, dictated way of doing things, and he represents how important it is to do things your own way or to have a marketplace of ideas.  Awesome.

[The Dog]

great photo.  a truly amazing/iconic moment in world history.

[Axlfreek]

I remember this was rumored to be the cover of chinese democracy back in 2001

[stolat]

I remember this was rumored to be the cover of chinese democracy back in 2001

Nice One!

[AxlsMainMan]

I remember this was rumored to be the cover of chinese democracy back in 2001

I think this would still make an amazing album cover if "Guns N 'Roses" and the album name were incorporated into it somehow.

[The Catcher]

truly a hero.

[CheapJon]

I thought he was captured by the chinese gov'ment.. but ok, he's probably killed by now  he did it for like 30 minutes if i'm not wrong..


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_man

here's it on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9klv9q19rTY

a true hero.. and so inspirationable (if that's a word)

[BlowUpYourVideo]

I remember this was rumored to be the cover of chinese democracy back in 2001

I think this would still make an amazing album cover if "Guns N 'Roses" and the album name were incorporated into it somehow.

Cheap plug?


Anyway, it takes some guts to do that. I'm surprised they didn't just try to run him over. Doesn't he climb on to one of the tanks at some point?

[mrlee]

i thought he got run over?

[Izzy]

i thought he got run over?

nope, they stopped

Though they did run over other people accoridng to reports, not with tanks though - several people were killed by other armoured vehicles

Personally without seeing this photo in context i think its dangerous to give it any special meaning - the guy might have been just incredibly stupid as opposed to making a ''stand''

[stolat]

i thought he got run over?

nope, they stopped

Though they did run over other people accoridng to reports, not with tanks though - several people were killed by other armoured vehicles

Personally without seeing this photo in context i think its dangerous to give it any special meaning - the guy might have been just incredibly stupid as opposed to making a ''stand''

And just running with that thought - would you call the Poles who charged (on horses, sabres drawn) the tanks (entering their city) at the beginning of WW2, stupid, romantic or brave?

[freedom78]

i thought he got run over?

nope, they stopped

Though they did run over other people accoridng to reports, not with tanks though - several people were killed by other armoured vehicles

Personally without seeing this photo in context i think its dangerous to give it any special meaning - the guy might have been just incredibly stupid as opposed to making a ''stand''

And just running with that thought - would you call the Poles who charged (on horses, sabres drawn) the tanks (entering their city) at the beginning of WW2, stupid, romantic or brave?

I think "tragically under-equipped" is probably a better description than any other.

[stolat]

After that it took the Poles 5 years to collect enough weapons and ammo to have the Uprising of 44. My great aunt was transporting a basketful of handgranades across the city when she got stopped on a tram - the soldier asked her what was in the basket - she said are you stupid! - potatoes of course! She also later told the gestapo where to go......

Lucky! Gutsy! Phew!

(a happy anecdote from WW2 for ya!)

[AxlsMainMan]

i thought he got run over?

nope, they stopped

Though they did run over other people accoridng to reports, not with tanks though - several people were killed by other armoured vehicles

Personally without seeing this photo in context i think its dangerous to give it any special meaning - the guy might have been just incredibly stupid as opposed to making a ''stand''

Im afraid your mistaken.

"By looking at these two photographs and using the painted road lines as a reference, it is evident that the tank has moved forward.

After blocking the tanks, the man climbed up onto the top of the lead tank and had a conversation with the driver. Reports of what he said to the driver vary, including "Why are you here? My city is in chaos because of you"; "Go back, turn around, and stop killing my people"; and "Go away."

Video footage shows that anxious onlookers then pulled the man away and absorbed him into the crowd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man

[fuckin crazy]

Though they did run over other people accoridng to reports, not with tanks though - several people were killed by other armoured vehicles

Tragically , thousands probably died that week .

[stolat]

TIANANMEN Square was quiet today and China's media was silent on the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators that took place there 18 years ago to the day, but rights groups said it would not be forgotten.

People's Liberation Army troops and tanks crushed the student-led demonstrations in the historic Beijing square on June 4, 1989, killing hundreds, possibly thousands.

"I want to tell those who claim that Tiananmen 'belongs to another era' that, behind the high, barbed-wire-ringed walls of the Chinese prisons, Tiananmen prisoners are still suffering,'' the Chinese Human Rights Defenders said in a statement, quoting an unnamed former prisoner of conscience.

Eighteen years on, at least 13 Chinese were still behind bars for their roles in the pro-democracy movement, the group said.

Few details were known about the 13, beyond their names. At least three were convicted of "counter-revolutionary sabotage'' and one of "counter-revolutionary assault''.

Seven were serving suspended death sentences and six were serving life, it said.

The group said those still in jail, who it termed "political prisoners'', should be released at once.

"The Government should allow open and independent investigation of the massacre, of cases in which people were allegedly tortured into confessions and of cases of wrongful imprisonment,'' it said.

Then-Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang was toppled for opposing the crackdown and the Government labelled the protests "counter-revolutionary'', or subversive, a judgment it has resisted calls to overturn.

Bao Tong, a top aide of Zhao's, said China could never forget the events of 1989.

"To forget June 4 is a national humiliation,'' he said in a rare interview at his apartment.

"June 4 was a tragedy not just for China but for the whole of mankind. We will still be talking about June 4 in 1000 years' time ... '' Mr Bao said.

At the Zhao family courtyard compound, where he lived under house arrest until his death in 2005, the usual security presence was in place.

"You can't come in. The higher-ups said so,'' said a guard.

Tiananmen Square itself was full of the usual tour groups, both Chinese and foreign, and locals flying kites, as well as plainclothes security and police vans.

At its north end, in front of the giant portrait of Mao Zedong, police surrounded a woman and rifled through her bag before bundling her off in the back of a van, a sign of the tight rein China keeps on petitioners and protesters.

Despite the pressing need for activists to remember the events, the silence within China on the period means many have little knowledge of the Tiananmen movement.

The only hint of the date in China's tightly controlled media as a piece on Saturday in the China Youth Daily commending the heroic police who ensure public order and safety on the square.
There were some signs of easing, amid the tight controls.

Ding Zilin, who leads the pressure group Tiananmen Mothers, was allowed for the first time to lay flowers where her son was shot and hold a brief memorial ceremony, said the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

In Hong Kong, tens of thousands were expected to turn out for an evening candle-lit vigil, as they do each year.

The Tiananmen issue shot back into public attention in the former British colony last month after pro-Beijing politician Ma Lik said the crackdown "was not a massacre'', prompting a sharp rebuke from dissidents.

Exiled activist Wu'er Kaixi wrote in the Wall Street Journal that Mr Ma's comments and the reaction to them showed that 1989 "can still arouse powerful emotions''.

"For me, these reactions underscore the fact that, no matter how vital China has become to (the) world economy and how much it has changed with the times, the Tiananmen knot cannot be unravelled either by ignoring the truth, playing with semantics or denying it happened,'' he wrote.

Key figures have been silenced at home or forced into exile abroad since 1989, but voices for reform have mutated into a crusade involving a new generation of civil rights campaigners.

 Source: "The Advertiser" Monday 4th June 2007.

 

[stolat]

SEE ^ It IS THE CHINESE DEMOCRACY TOUR!!

(What date did the tour start!!! June 2nd!!! Axl was 2 days early!!!)