eli5: what is the context and the full story of the man infront of a tank video/picture
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So, on 4 June 1989, huge protests took place in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The people of China had serious complaints about how the CCP were running China, and were calling for democracy. It was a purely peaceful protest.
Well, the CCP weren’t having it. They sent in the military, including several tanks, to break up the protest. We don’t know exactly how many civilians died at the hands of their own country’s military, but it was in the thousands. This event is now widely known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
On the next day, June 5th, the CCP withdrew from Tiananmen Square. As the tanks were trying to leave, Tank Man (nobody knows his name) walked into the street and intentionally stood in front of the tanks. When they tried to go around him, he walked to the side and blocked them again. This was widely captured by protesters at the event, as a bold act of defiance and protest.
Nobody knows what exactly happened next, because it was not recorded, but Tank Man was assuredly killed by the CCP military for his actions.
The CCP aggressively censor the events of that day, and have worked very hard to try and hide evidence of dissent in China. The Tank Man photos escaped and were disseminated internationally before they could stop it, however. They’re quite striking photographs, and have become a symbol of CCP-resistance sentiment in China, and the world.
Every year, on June 4th, anti-CCP groups use the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and the photos of Tank Man, to highlight the struggle for political reform in China.
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