View source for Tank Man

{{Short description|Unknown Tiananmen Square protester}}
{{Redirect|Tankman|other uses|Tankman (disambiguation)}}
{{Expand Chinese|date=March 2023|topic=hist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = "Tank Man"
| image              = Tank Man (Tiananmen Square protester).jpg
| caption            = "Tank Man" temporarily stops the advance of four [[Type 59 tank|Type 59]] tanks on June 5, 1989, in Beijing. This photograph (one of six similar versions) was taken by [[Jeff Widener]] of the [[Associated Press]].<!--This image can only be used in this article under [[Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria]] policy; see [[Wikipedia:Files for deletion/2011 April 12#File:Tank Man (Tiananmen Square protester).jpg]]-->
| disappeared_date   = {{Disappeared date|1989|06|05}}
| disappeared_place  = {{Coord|39|54|23.5|N|116|23|59.8|E|type:event_region:CN-13|display=title,inline}}
| nationality        = [[Chinese people|Chinese]] (presumed)
| other_names        = {{Plain list|
* Unknown Protester
* Unknown Rebel
* Wang Weilin (posited)
}}
| known_for          = Iconic [[photograph|photo]] of him obstructing tanks during the aftermath of the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]]
}}<!--This image can only be used in this article under [[Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria]] policy; see [[Wikipedia:Files for deletion/2011 April 12#File:Tank Man (Tiananmen Square protester).jpg]]-->
'''Tank Man''' (also known as the '''Unknown Protester''' or '''Unknown Rebel''') is the [[nickname]] given to an unidentified individual, presumed to be a Chinese man, who stood in front of a column of [[Type 59 tank|Type 59]] tanks leaving [[Tiananmen Square]] in [[Beijing]] on June 5, 1989. On the previous day, the [[government of China]] cleared the square of protesting students after six weeks of standoff, which resulted in the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre#Deaths around and in Tiananmen Square itself|death of hundreds of people]], mostly in other parts of Beijing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathews |first=Jay |title=The Myth of Tiananmen |url=https://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/the_myth_of_tiananmen.php |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Richard |date=2009-06-04 |title=There Was No "Tiananmen Square Massacre" - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/there-was-no-tiananmen-square-massacre/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> As the lead tank maneuvered to pass the man, he repeatedly shifted his position in order to obstruct the tank's attempted path around him, and forced the tanks to halt to avoid running him over; the man then climbed on top of the tank where the PLA soldiers talked to him. The incident was filmed and shared to a worldwide audience. Internationally, it is considered one of the most iconic images of all time.<ref name="NYTimeretrospect" /><ref name="FloorSpeech">[[Joe Pitts (Pennsylvania politician)|Pitts, Joe]]. "Tiananmen Anniversary" {{USCongRec|2009|H6079|date=June 3, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Corless2006">{{cite news |last=Corless |first=Kieron |title=Time In – Plugged In – Tank Man |magazine=Time Out |date=May 24, 2006}}</ref> Inside [[China]], the image and the accompanying events are subject to [[Censorship in China|censorship]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Hernández |first=Javier C. |date=June 3, 2019 |title=30 Years After Tiananmen, 'Tank Man' Remains an Icon and a Mystery |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/world/asia/tiananmen-tank-man.html |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ables |first1=Kelsey |title=The forbidden images of the Chinese internet |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/chinese-internet-censorship-images/index.html |website=CNN |publisher=Artsy |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217025649/https://www.cnn.com/style/article/chinese-internet-censorship-images/index.html |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |date=August 7, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Many documentaries and related exhibitions about the June 4 Tiananmen Square Incident mention the incident of protesters blocking tanks, and regard the "Tank Man" as an iconic symbol of the incident. The British ''[[Daily Express#Sunday Express|Sunday Express]]'' first circulated the protester's name as "Wang Weilin"; however, Tank Man's exact identity and whereabouts remain unknown, and different news media have different names for the protester. The [[PBS]] program ''[[Frontline (American TV series)|Frontline]]'' produced a documentary about the incident in 2006.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Antony |title=The Tank Man |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/tankman/ |website=PBS |access-date=18 November 2025 |language=English |date=April 11, 2006}}</ref>

In April 1998, ''Time'' magazine named "The Unknown Rebel" one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. In 2003, ''Life'' magazine published a book called “100 Photos That Changed the World” which also included photos of people blocking a tank convoy. Although the images are regarded as an iconic symbol of the 20th century, the Chinese government actively prohibits the circulation of related images on the Internet, including discussions of the images and the protests surrounding them.

There is no reliable information about the identity or fate of Tank Man; the story of the [[tank]] crew is also unknown.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SACHK-W4o1E&t=4m28s | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/SACHK-W4o1E| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=Photographer Jeff Widener |work=BBC interview |date=2014|edition= Video}}{{cbignore}}</ref> At least one witness has stated that Tank Man was not the only person to have blocked the tanks during the protest.{{refn|Shao Jiang, who was a student leader, said: "I witnessed a lot of the people standing up, blocking the tanks."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1UUS1ZGAi4&t=1m22s | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/d1UUS1ZGAi4| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=Shao Jiang interview |work=Amnesty International|edition= Video posted for 25th anniversary|access-date= May 28, 2014 }}{{cbignore}} Those interviewed include the photographer Stuart Franklin, with ''Magnum'' for TIME, who was on the 5th-floor balcony of the Beijing Hotel.</ref>}}

== Obstruction ==
At the northeast edge of [[Tiananmen Square]], along [[Chang'an Avenue]], shortly after noon on June 5, 1989, the day after the Chinese government's violent suppression of the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre|Tiananmen protests]], "Tank Man" stood in the middle of the wide avenue, directly in the path of a column of approaching [[Type 59 tank|Type 59]] tanks.<ref>{{cite news |last=Makinen |first=Julie |date=4 June 2014 |title=Tiananmen Square mystery: Who was 'Tank Man'? |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-tiananmen-square-tank-man-20140603-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=16 April 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/04/china-tiananmen-square-beijing?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other|title=The west is complicit in the 30-year cover-up of Tiananmen|last=Ai|first=Weiwei|date=4 June 2019|work=The Guardian – Australia edition}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Srinivasan |first1=Ranjani |title=Daily Quiz - On protest movements |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/daily-quiz-on-protest-movements/article65418904.ece |website=The Hindu |access-date=2 November 2022 |language=en-IN |date=16 May 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Stuart Franklin, who was on assignment for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, told ''[[The New York Times]]'': "At some point, shots were fired and the tanks carried on down the road toward us, leaving Tiananmen Square behind, until blocked by a lone protester."<ref name="NYTimeretrospect" /> He wore a white shirt and black trousers, and he held two shopping bags.<ref>{{cite book|last=Langely|first=Andrew|title=Tiananmen Square: Massacre Crushes China's Democracy Movement|publisher=Compass Point Books|year=2009|page=45|isbn=978-0-7565-4101-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1tU90qvym94C&pg=PT23}}</ref> As the tanks came to a stop, the man gestured at them with one of the bags. In response, the lead tank attempted to drive around the man, but the man repeatedly stepped into the path of the tank in a show of [[nonviolent action]].<ref name="Time"/> After repeatedly attempting to go around, the lead tank stopped its engines, and the armored vehicles behind it followed suit. There was a short pause with the man and the tanks having reached a quiet, still impasse.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

Having successfully brought the column to a halt, the man climbed onto the hull of the buttoned-up lead tank and, after briefly stopping at the driver's hatch, appeared in video footage of the incident to call into various ports in the tank's turret. He then climbed atop the turret and seemed to have a short conversation with a crew member at the gunner's hatch. After ending the conversation, the man descended from the tank. The man is then seen briefly speaking with a second person who is riding his bicycle across the street in front of the stationary tanks, as they begin to start their engines again. It is unclear whether he is still seeking to obstruct the tanks.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

At this point, the video footage shows two figures in blue running over to pull the man away and lead him to a nearby crowd; the tanks then continued on their way.<ref name="Time"/> Eyewitnesses are unsure who pulled him aside. [[Charlie Cole (photographer)|Charlie Cole]], who was there for ''[[Newsweek]]'', claimed it was Chinese government [[Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau|agents]],<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4313282.stm |title=Picture Power:Tiananmen Standoff |work=BBC News |access-date=October 7, 2005 }}</ref> while [[Jan Wong]], who was there for ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', thought that the men who pulled him away were concerned bystanders.<ref name="wong">{{cite news |last1=Wong |first1=Jan |title=Jan Wong, August 1988 - August 1994 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/jan-wong-august-1988---august-1994/article4287717/ |access-date=9 July 2023 |agency=The Globe and Mail}}</ref>

== Identity and whereabouts ==
Little is publicly known of the man's identity or that of the commander of the lead tank. Shortly after the incident, the London newspaper ''[[Sunday Express]]'' named him as '''Wang Weilin''' ({{lang|zh-hans|王维林}}), a 19-year-old student<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-03-mn-819-story.html |title=Man who defied tanks may be dead |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=June 3, 1990 }}</ref> who was later charged with "political hooliganism" and "attempting to subvert members of the [[People's Liberation Army]]."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munro |first1=Robin |last2=Spiegel |first2=Mickey |year=1994 |title=Detained in China and Tibet: a directory of political and religious prisoners |publisher=Asia Watch Committee |pages=149–150 |isbn=978-1-56432-105-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zZv3IRRk8WoC&pg=PA149}}</ref> This claim has been refuted by internal [[Chinese Communist Party]] documents, which reported that they could not find the man, according to the Hong Kong-based [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy|Information Center for Human Rights]].<ref name=times30>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6390782.ece|title=Identity of Tank Man of Tiananmen Square remains a mystery |last=Macartney|first=Jane|date=May 30, 2009|work=The Times |location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629124036/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6390782.ece|archive-date=June 29, 2011}}</ref> One party member was quoted as saying: "We can't find him. We got his name from journalists. We have checked through computers but can't find him among the dead or among those in prison."<ref name=times30 /> Numerous theories have sprung up as to the man's identity and current whereabouts.<ref name="Wang Weilin by tank file">{{cite news |language=zh |url=http://appledaily.atnext.com/template/apple/art_main.cfm?iss_id=20060602&sec_id=4104&subsec_id=11866&art_id=5986243 |title=Wang Weilin by tank file |work=Apple Daily |date=June 2, 2006 |page=A1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221173327/http://appledaily.atnext.com/template/apple/art_main.cfm?iss_id=20060602&sec_id=4104&subsec_id=11866&art_id=5986243 |archive-date=February 21, 2009 }}</ref>

Conflicting stories tell 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|US President]] [[Richard Nixon]], said he was executed 14 days later; other sources say he was executed by [[firing squad]] a few months after the Tiananmen Square protests.<ref name="Time" /> In ''[[Red China Blues: My Long March from Mao to Now]]'', [[Jan Wong]] writes that she believes from her interactions with the government media that they have "no idea who he was either" and that he is still alive on the mainland. Another theory is that he escaped to [[Taiwan]] and got a job as an archaeologist at the [[National Palace Museum]]. This was first reported by [[Yonhap]] News of [[South Korea]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tiananmen-square-what-happened-to-tank-man-9483398.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tiananmen-square-what-happened-to-tank-man-9483398.html |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |first=Heather |last=Saul |title=Tiananmen Square 25th anniversary: What happened to Tank Man?|date=2014-06-04|work=The Independent|access-date=2017-12-11|language=en-GB}}</ref>

The [[Government of the People's Republic of China|Chinese government]] has made few statements about the incident or the people involved. The government denounced him as a "scoundrel" once on state television, but the segment was never shown publicly again.<ref name="frontlinetranscript" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMZmthg-Vk | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/fHMZmthg-Vk| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=The Tank Man (full film)| date=June 4, 2019|publisher=[[PBS]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In a 1990 interview with [[Barbara Walters]], [[Jiang Zemin]], then [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]], was asked what became of the man. Jiang first said (through an interpreter), "I can't confirm whether this young man you mentioned was arrested or not", and then replied in English, "I think [that he was] never killed."<ref name="frontlinetranscript">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/etc/transcript.html|work=Frontline |title=The Tank Man transcript|access-date=June 30, 2008|date=April 11, 2006 |publisher=PBS}}</ref> The government also argued that the incident evidenced the "humanity" of the country's military.<ref>{{cite news|last=Higgins|first=Andrew|title=Tycoon prods Taiwan closer to China|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/tycoon-prods-taiwan-closer-to-china/2012/01/20/gIQAhswmFQ_story.html|access-date=January 31, 2012|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 20, 2012}}</ref>

In a 2000 interview with [[Mike Wallace]], Jiang said, "He was never arrested." He then stated, "I don't know where he is now." He also emphasized that the tank stopped and did not run the young man over.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinas-leader-talks-to-60-minutes/ |title=China's Leader Talks To 60 Minutes|date=August 31, 2000|work=cbsnews.com}}</ref>

[[File:Intersection of East Chang'an Avenue and Nanheyan Street, Beijing, 2014.jpg|right|thumb|The intersection in 2014, viewed from a different angle|alt=A wide street blocked off by white guardrails with a large tree at the left in front of it and part of a brick building on the right in the rear. At the far left is an intersection with traffic lights.]]

In July 2017, it was reported by [[Apple Daily]] that the Tank Man's real name may be '''Zhang Weimin''' ({{lang|zh-hans|张为民}}), a native of [[Shijingshan, Beijing|Shijingshan]], Beijing, who was 24 years old in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-21 |title=据传"坦克人"王维林已经找到，他名叫张为民，被判无期徒刑 |url=https://www.rfi.fr/cn/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20170721-%E6%8D%AE%E4%BC%A0%E2%80%9C%E5%9D%A6%E5%85%8B%E4%BA%BA%E2%80%9D%E7%8E%8B%E7%BB%B4%E6%9E%97%E5%B7%B2%E7%BB%8F%E6%89%BE%E5%88%B0%EF%BC%8C%E4%BB%96%E5%90%8D%E5%8F%AB%E5%BC%A0%E4%B8%BA%E6%B0%91%EF%BC%8C%E8%A2%AB%E5%88%A4%E6%97%A0%E6%9C%9F%E5%BE%92%E5%88%91 |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=RFI - 法国国际广播电台 |language=zh-Hans}}</ref> The man who gave the story claimed that he was in the same cell with Zhang in Beijing [[Yanqing Prison]]. The verdict stated that he struck a tank with a brick and was initially sentenced to life imprisonment, which was later reduced to 20 years. After winning an award at Yanqing Prison, he was released on parole in 2007. After his release, however, he had no relatives or housing and developed a gambling habit. A few years later, he was imprisoned at Kenhua Prison (located in [[Tianjin]] and managed by Beijing), and his sentence was increased by two years. Still according to the article, Zhang was claimed to be held in the 11th division of Kenhua Prison, and at the time of the article, he was expected to be released shortly.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-22 |title=【六四坦克人】未死？不叫王維林名叫張為民 {{!}} 即時新聞 {{!}} 兩岸 {{!}} 20170719 |url=http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/realtime/china/20170719/56976286 |access-date=2024-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722005655/http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/realtime/china/20170719/56976286 |archive-date=July 22, 2017 }}</ref>

== Censorship ==
{{see also|Overseas censorship of Chinese issues}}

In 2006, a [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] interview of six experts observed that the memory of the Tiananmen Square protests appears to have faded in China, especially among younger Chinese people, due to government censorship.<ref>{{cite web |website=PBS.org |date=11 April 2006 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/themes/legacy.html|title=Legacy of June Fourth}}</ref> Images of the protest on the Internet have been [[Internet censorship in China|censored in China]].<ref name="times30" /> When undergraduate students at Beijing University, which was at the center of the incident, were shown copies of the photograph 16 years later, they were "genuinely mystified".<ref name="frontlineinterview">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/interviews/wong.html|title=The Tank Man: Interview: Jan Wong |access-date=August 12, 2010|date=April 11, 2006|work=Frontline|publisher=PBS}}</ref> One of the students said that the image was "artwork".{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

It has been suggested that the "Unknown Rebel", if still alive, may be unaware of his international recognition.<ref name="times30" /><!-- Src has been updated to use archive.org copy; sentence shortened to say no more than what's in the source. -->

After the events in the square, the local [[Public security bureau (China)|public security bureau]] treated members of the international press roughly, confiscating and destroying all the film they could find, and forced journalists to sign confessions to offenses such as photography during martial law, punishable by long imprisonment.<ref name="BBC News" />

On August 20, 2020, a trailer for ''[[Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War]]'' showed footage of Tank Man. On video platforms in China like [[Bilibili]], the segment of the trailer was replaced with a black screen. The next day, [[Activision Blizzard]] released a shorter version of the trailer worldwide that did not include the scene.<ref>{{cite news |title=Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is censored over Tiananmen crackdown clip |url=https://www.scmp.com/abacus/games/article/3098634/call-duty-black-ops-cold-war-trailer-gets-censored-china-over |work=South China Morning Post |date=2020-08-25 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Perez |first1=Matt |title=New Call Of Duty Trailer Censored In China Over Tiananmen Square Footage |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/08/24/new-call-of-duty-trailer-censored-in-china-over-tiananmen-square-footage/?sh=3dab891240af |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

On June 4, 2021, the [[32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre|32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre]], searches for the Tank Man image and videos were censored by [[Microsoft]]'s [[Microsoft Bing|Bing]] search engine worldwide. Hours after Microsoft acknowledged the issue, the search returned only pictures of tanks elsewhere in the world. Search engines that license results from Microsoft such as [[DuckDuckGo]] and [[Yahoo]] faced similar issues. Microsoft said the issue was "due to an accidental human error."<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-06-05|title=Microsoft says error caused 'Tank Man' Bing censorship|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57367100|access-date=2021-06-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Campbell|first=Ian Carlos|date=2021-06-04|title=Microsoft says Bing's 'Tank Man' censorship was a human error|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/4/22519418/microsoft-bing-china-tank-man-tiananmen-square|access-date=2021-06-06|website=The Verge|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Microsoft says error led to no matching Bing images for Tiananmen 'tank man' |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-bing-raises-concerns-over-lack-image-results-tiananmen-tank-man-2021-06-04/ |work=Reuters |date=2021-06-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Microsoft blocks Bing from showing image results for Tiananmen 'tank man' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/04/microsoft-bing-tiananmen-tank-man-results |work=the Guardian |date=2021-06-05 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bing Censors Image Search for 'Tank Man' Even in US |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/bing-censors-tank-man/ |work=VICE |language=en}}</ref> The director of [[Human Rights Watch]], [[Kenneth Roth]], said the idea that it was an inadvertent error is "hard to believe". David Greene, [[Civil Liberties]] Director at the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]], said that content moderation was impossible to do perfectly and "egregious mistakes are made all the time", but, he further elaborated, "At worst, this was purposeful suppression at the request of a powerful state."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tilley |first1=Aaron |title=Microsoft's Bing Temporarily Blocked Searches of Tiananmen Square 'Tank Man' Image |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsofts-bing-temporarily-blocked-searches-of-tiananmen-square-tank-man-image-11622845011 |work=Wall Street Journal |date=2021-06-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Microsoft says error caused 'Tank Man' Bing censorship |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57367100 |work=BBC News |date=2021-06-05}}</ref>

== Photographic versions ==
Five photographers managed to capture the event on film.<ref name="NYTimeretrospect">{{cite news |last=Witty |first=Patrick |date=June 3, 2009 |url=https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/behind-the-scenes-tank-man-of-tiananmen/ |title=Behind the Scenes: Tank Man of Tiananmen |newspaper=The New York Times }}</ref> On June 4, 2009, the fifth photographer released an image of the scene taken from ground level.<ref name="NYTNewPhoto">{{cite news |last=Witty |first=Patrick |date=June 4, 2009 |url=https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/behind-the-scenes-a-new-angle-on-history/ |title=Behind the Scenes: A New Angle on History |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref>

The widest coverage of the event and one of the best-known photographs of the event, appearing in both of the magazines ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' and ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'', was documented by [[Stuart Franklin]]. He was on the same balcony as [[Charlie Cole (photographer)|Charlie Cole]], and his film was smuggled out of the country by a French student, concealed in a box of tea.<ref name="NYTimeretrospect" />

The most-used photograph of the event was taken by [[Jeff Widener]] of the [[Associated Press]], from a sixth-floor balcony of the [[Beijing Hotel]], about {{convert|1/2|mi|m|sigfig=1|spell=in}} away from the scene. The image was taken using a [[Nikon FE2]] camera through a [[Nikkor]] [[Telephoto lens|400mm 5.6 ED-IF lens]] and [[Nikon TC-301|TC-301]] teleconverter.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tank-man-the-picture-that-almost-wasnt/|title='Tank Man': The Picture That Almost Wasn't|last=Alfano |first=Sean |date=June 4, 2009|publisher=[[CBS News]]}}</ref> The American exchange student Kirk Martsen unexpectedly met Widener in the hotel lobby, and upon request he allowed Widener to take photos from his hotel room.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chinoy |first1=Mike |last2=Yeung |first2=Jessie |title=The man in front of the tank: How journalists smuggled out the iconic Tiananmen Square photo |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/03/china/tiananmen-square-tank-man-photo-intl-hnk/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=5 June 2024 |date=3 June 2024 |quote=I walked up to him and whispered, 'I'm from Associated Press, can you let me up to your room?' He picked up on it right away and said, 'Sure.'  That young man was Kirk Martsen – an American exchange student who snuck Widener into his sixth-floor hotel room.}}</ref> Circumstances were against the photographer, who recalled that the picture was almost not taken.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/11/tank-man-photograph-tiananmen-square-30-years-jeff-widener?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other|title=Thirty years on, the Tiananmen Square image that shocked the world|last=Beaumont|first=Peter|date=12 May 2019|work=The Guardian – Australian edition}}</ref> Widener was injured, suffering from the flu and running out of film. Martsen, the college student, hastily obtained a roll of Fuji 100 ASA color negative film, allowing Widener to make the shot. Martsen then smuggled the film out of the hotel, and delivered it to the Beijing Associated Press office.<ref name="NYTimeretrospect" /> Though he was concerned that his shots were no good, his image was syndicated to many newspapers around the world<ref name="NYTimeretrospect" /> and was said to have appeared on the front page of all European papers.<ref name="NYTimeretrospect" /> He was also nominated for the [[Pulitzer Prize]] but did not win. Nevertheless, his photograph has widely been known as one of the most iconic photographs of all time.<ref name="NYTimeretrospect" /><ref name="FloorSpeech" /><ref name="Corless2006" />

[[File:Tankman new longshot StuartFranklin.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Wider shot by Stuart Franklin showing a column of tanks approaching Tank Man, who is shown near the lower-left corner.]]
[[Charlie Cole (photographer)|Charlie Cole]], working for ''[[Newsweek]]'' and on the same balcony as Stuart Franklin, hid his roll of film containing Tank Man in a Beijing Hotel toilet, sacrificing an unused roll of film and a roll containing undeveloped images of wounded protesters when the [[Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau|PSB]] raided his room, destroyed the two rolls of film and forced him to sign a confession to photography during martial law, an imprisonable offence. Cole was able to retrieve the hidden roll and have it sent to ''Newsweek''.<ref name="NYTimeretrospect" /> He was awarded the 1990 [[World Press Photo]] of the Year<ref name="WorldPressPhoto">{{cite web |url=https://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo/1990/world-press-photo-year/charlie-cole |website=World Press Photo |title=1990 Photo Contest, World Press Photo of the Year, Charlie Cole }}</ref> and the picture was featured in ''Life''{{'s}} "[[100 Photographs that Changed the World|100 Photographs That Changed the World]]" in 2003.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

On June 4, 2009, in connection with the 20th anniversary of the protests, the Associated Press reporter Terril Jones revealed a photo he had taken showing Tank Man from ground level, a different angle from all of the other known photos of Tank Man. Jones wrote that he was not aware of what he had captured until a month later when printing his photos.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jones|first=Terril|year=2009|title=Tank Man|journal=Pomona College Magazine|volume=41|issue=1 |url=http://pomona.edu/Magazine/PCMFL09/FStankman.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306041054/http://pomona.edu/Magazine/PCMFL09/FStankman.shtml|archive-date=March 6, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Arthur Tsang Hin Wah of [[Reuters]] took several shots from room 1111 of the Beijing Hotel,<ref name="HKPPA">{{cite web|url=http://thehousenews.com/society/%E5%9B%9E%E5%88%B0%E5%A1%B5%E5%9C%9F%E4%BA%BA%E9%96%93-%E6%9B%BE%E9%A1%AF%E8%8F%AF%E8%A8%AA%E8%AB%87/ |title=回到塵土人間 曾顯華訪談 |trans-title=Arthur Tsang Hin Wah interview |date=March 20, 2013|website=thehousenews.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323000048/http://thehousenews.com/society/%E5%9B%9E%E5%88%B0%E5%A1%B5%E5%9C%9F%E4%BA%BA%E9%96%93-%E6%9B%BE%E9%A1%AF%E8%8F%AF%E8%A8%AA%E8%AB%87/ |archive-date=March 23, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> but only the shot of Tank Man climbing the tank was chosen.<ref name="NYTimeretrospect" /> It was not until several hours later that the photo of the man standing in front of the tank was finally chosen. When the staff noticed Widener's work, they re-checked Tsang's negative to see if it was of the same moment as Widener's. On March 20, 2013, in an interview by the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association (HKPPA), Tsang told the story and added further detail. He told HKPPA that on the night of June 3, 1989, he was beaten by students while taking photos and was bleeding. A foreign photographer accompanying him suddenly said, "I am not gonna die for your country", and left. Tsang returned to the hotel. When he decided to go out again, the [[Chinese public security bureau|public security]] stopped him, so he stayed in his room, stood next to the window and eventually witnessed the Tank Man event and took several shots of it.<ref name="HKPPA" />

In addition to the still photography, video footage of the scene was recorded and transmitted across the globe. [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC) cameraman [[Willie Phua]], Cable News Network ([[CNN]]) cameraman Jonathan Schaer and National Broadcasting Company ([[NBC]]) cameraman Tony Wasserman appear to be the only television cameramen who captured the scene.<ref name="Shooting the 'tank man' of Tiananmen Square">{{cite web|title=Capturing Asia|url=http://www.bobwurth.com/capturing-asia.html|website=Books and Essays by Bob Wurth on the Asia Pacific Region|access-date=15 June 2015|archive-date=February 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205101737/http://bobwurth.com/capturing-asia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Willie Phua 7.30 report ABC">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkck39jSV-M&t=4m51s Willie Phua on Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 7.30 Report]. [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]. November 29, 1996.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://worldblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2009/06/04/4375932-recalling-the-spirit-of-tiananmen|title=Recalling the spirit of Tiananmen|first1=George|last1=Lewis|date=2009-06-04|access-date=2016-11-15|archive-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509103622/http://worldblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2009/06/04/4375932-recalling-the-spirit-of-tiananmen|url-status=dead}}</ref> The ABC correspondents Max Uechtritz and Peter Cave were the journalists reporting from the balcony.<ref name="ABC marks 40 years of reporting from China">{{cite news|title=Timeline: ABC marks 40 years of reporting from China|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-01/timeline3a-the-abc-in-china/5062076|access-date=15 June 2015|publisher=ABC News|date=31 October 2013}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
In April 1998, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' included the "Unknown Rebel" in a feature titled "[[Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century]]".<ref name=Time /> In November 2016, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' included the photograph by [[Jeff Widener]] in "Time 100: The Most Influential Images of All Time".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Time 100: The Most Influential Images of All Time |url=http://100photos.time.com |url-status=dead|magazine=Time |date=6 November 2016 |access-date=19 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616175432/http://100photos.time.com/ |archive-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> Although the images of Tank Man are regarded as iconic symbols of the 20th century, most young people in China do not recognize the photograph because the Chinese government prohibits the circulation of related images on the Internet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Witty |first=Patrick |date=2009-06-03 |title=Behind the Scenes: Tank Man of Tiananmen |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/behind-the-scenes-tank-man-of-tiananmen/ |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Lens Blog |language=en}}</ref>

== In media ==
In the 1999 [[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]] song "Stand and Be Counted", from the album ''[[Looking Forward]]'', David Crosby sings of his gratitude to Tank Man, whose photograph he had framed and mounted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lyricsdepot.com/crosby-stills-nash-and-young/stand-and-be-counted.html |author=David Crosby and James Raymond |title=Stand and Be Counted (lyrics)}}</ref>

A similar scene is depicted in the music video for "[[Only One (Yellowcard song)|Only One]]" (2003) by the American rock band [[Yellowcard]] as well as "[[Club Foot (song)|Club Foot]]" (2004) by the English rock band [[Kasabian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/91923534 |author=Kasabian |title=Club Foot feat. Dinara Drukarova|website=Vimeo|date=April 14, 2014 }}</ref>

A fictionalized story of Tank Man and a soldier in the tank is told in [[Lucy Kirkwood]]'s 2013 play ''[[Chimerica (play)|Chimerica]]'', which premiered at the Almeida Theatre from May 20, 2013, to July 6, 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hitchings|first=Henry|title=Chimerica, Almeida Theatre – theatre review |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/theatre/chimerica-almeida-theatre--theatre-review-8635490.html|access-date=June 16, 2015|work=London Evening Standard|date=29 May 2013}}</ref>

On June 4, 2013, [[Sina Weibo]], China's most popular microblog, blocked terms whose English translations are "today", "tonight", "[[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989|June 4]]", and "big yellow duck". If these were searched for, a message appeared stating that the search results could not be shown in accordance with relevant laws, statutes, and policies. The censorship occurred because a [[Photo manipulation#"Photoshop" as a verb|photoshopped]] version of Tank Man, in which [[rubber ducks]] replaced the tanks, had been circulating on [[Twitter]]<ref>{{cite news|author=Didi Kirsten Tatlow|title=Censored in China: 'Today,' 'Tonight' and 'Big Yellow Duck'|url=https://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/censored-in-china-today-tonight-and-big-yellow-duck/ |work=International New York Times IHT Rendezvous|date=June 4, 2013}}</ref>—a reference to [[Florentijn Hofman]]'s [[Rubber Duck (sculpture)|''Rubber Duck'']] sculpture, which at that time was floating in Hong Kong's [[Victoria Harbour]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/06/04/fools-errand-why-china-censors-rubber-duckies-on-tiananmen-anniversary/ |first=Max |last=Fisher |date=June 4, 2013|title=Fool's Errand: Why China Censors Rubber Duckies on Tiananmen Anniversary}}</ref>

In April 2019, [[Leica Camera]] released an advertisement depicting photographers in intense political climates, including 1989 China. The five-minute short ends with a photographer shooting from a hotel window with the Tank Man image reflected in his lens, despite the fact that the original photograph was taken with a Nikon camera.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://petapixel.com/2019/04/29/sorry-leica-tank-man-was-shot-on-nikon/|title=Sorry, Leica: 'Tank Man' Was Shot on Nikon|date=April 29, 2019|first=Michael|last=Zhang|website=PetaPixel}}</ref> After the Leica brand was censored on [[Sina Weibo]], Leica revoked the advertisement and sought to distance themselves from it.<ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News |title=Leica China video sparks backlash over Tiananmen Square image |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-47987817 |date=April 19, 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[30th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]]
* [[August Landmesser]]
* [[Chinese democracy movement]]
* [[Faris Odeh]]
* [[Affan Kurniawan]]
* [[History of the People's Republic of China]]
* [[Human rights in China]]
* [[List of photographs considered the most important]]
* [[Red Fićo]]
* [[Tankie]]
* [[He Zhihua]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988169,00.html |title=The Unknown Rebel |magazine=Time |date=13 April 1998 |access-date=10 August 2014 |last1=Iyer |first1=Pico }}</ref>

}}

=== Notes ===
{{NoteFoot}}

== Further reading ==
* ''June Fourth: The True Story, Tian'anmen Papers/Zhongguo Liusi Zhenxiang Volumes 1–2'' (Chinese edition), Zhang Liang, {{ISBN|962-8744-36-4}}.
* ''Red China Blues: My Long March from Mao to Now'', Jan Wong, Doubleday, 1997, trade paperback, 416 pages, {{ISBN|0-385-48232-9}} (Contains, besides extensive autobiographical material, an eyewitness account of the Tiananmen crackdown and the basis for an estimate of the number of casualties.)
* ''The Tiananmen Papers: The Chinese Leadership's Decision to Use Force Against their Own People—In their Own Words'', Compiled by Zhang Liang, Edited by [[Andrew J. Nathan]] and [[Perry Link]], with an afterword by [[Orville Schell]], PublicAffairs, New York, 2001, hardback, 514 pages, {{ISBN|1-58648-012-X}} (An extensive review and synopsis of ''The Tiananmen Papers'' in the journal ''[[Foreign Affairs]]'' may be found at [https://web.archive.org/web/20081219055135/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20010101faessay4257-p0/andrew-j-nathan/the-tiananmen-papers.html Review and synopsis in the journal ''Foreign Affairs''].)

==External links==
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20190602110107/https://www.javathought.com/china-still-gets-annoyed-with-images-showing-the-famous-tiananmen-square-tank-man-30-years-after-he-became-a-symbol-of-the-governments-brutality/ China still gets annoyed with images showing the famous Tiananmen Square ‘Tank Man,’ 30 years after he became a symbol of the government’s brutality]}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeFzeNAHEhU Raw video of the Tank Man incident (CNN on YouTube)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151207073824/http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm25.html The Stuart Franklin photo at ''Life'' magazine 100 photos that changed the world].
* {{In lang|zh|cap=yes}} [http://dajiyuan.com/b5/6/6/1/n1336133.htm Professor disclosed heroic Wang Weilin still in world], dajiyuan.com. Retrieved June 1, 2006.
* [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/ PBS ''Frontline'' documentary "The Tank Man"], 2006, Program viewable online. Last Retrieved July 29, 2008.
* [http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20171005-the-photos-that-defined-a-massacre The photos that defined a massacre], BBC
* [https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3026967/tiananmen-square-tank-man-photographer-charlie-cole-dies-bali John McBeth (13 Sep, 2019) "Tank man photographer Charlie Cole died in Bali"] aged 64

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