Thursday 4 June 2009

Icons #12 Tank Man

Tonight's post is dedicated to the people who lost their lives on the 4th and 5th of June 1989 in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square protesting for a more democratic China.

This photograph is reproduced often and has become an iconic statement of peoples desire for freedom and democracy around the world.  The fate of the man in the picture is not known although it is assumed that he was killed by the Chinese government shortly after.

Ironically China is now developing faster than any other nation and has adopted much of the democratic policies that the protesting students wanted twenty years ago.

If you are too young to remember Tiananmen it might be hard to understand why I went with Tank Man as my icon tonight.  If you watched the story unfold as I did on the BBC news, you will understand.  That man's bravery still takes my breath away, makes the hairs on the back of my stand up, and makes me feel incredibly humble.  

Remember him tonight.  Remember the hundreds of students killed for asking for what you and I take for granted.

Thanks to @RickHarwood for suggesting Tiananmen Square as tonight's post.

If you haven't seen the footage of Tank Man you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t959SEpUaEw

1 comment:

  1. Tank Man lives. Updates of this iconic image are all over the Web today. Here, for example:

    http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/20th-anniversary-of-tiananmen-square/

    ReplyDelete