#Tankman2018: hero of Tiananmen protest remembered across globe

#Tankman2018: hero of Tiananmen protest remembered across globe

On the 29th anniversary of the crackdown in Beijing, protesters are reenacting the historic face-off between a lone man and a Chinese tank

Tank Man: what happened at Tiananmen Square? – video explainer
Chinese citizens around the world are remembering the lone man, armed with nothing more than two shopping bags, who stepped in front of a row of tanks moving down the streets of Beijing in 1989.

Better known as “Tank Man”, he is one of the most enduring images of China’s violent military crackdown on democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, known in China as liusi, or June 4th.

On the 29th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, protesters are reenacting the face-off under hashtags including #Tankman2018 #Tankmen2018, a campaign started by Chinese artist and cartoonist, Badiucao.

According to Badiucao, Tank Man represents “something lost in China’s young generation now — the idealism, passion, sense of responsibility, and confidence that an individual can make a change”, he said. “Tank Man is very relevant today and people should see it. Society has not changed much since the massacre for the oppression has never stopped”.

Badiucao gave instructions for protesters to take a photo of themselves wearing the “classic outfit” of Tank Man: white shirt, black pants, and black shoes, while holding two white bags. The artist made designs for the bags including images of Peppa the Pig and Winnie-the-Pooh, characters censored in China, as well as mi tu or “rice bunny” a now blocked phrase used by Chinese “#MeToo” activists.

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