Editing Tank Man (section)

{{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}}
| birth_name         = Unknown
| birth_place        = 
| death_date         = Unknown
| death_place        = 
| nationality        = [[Chinese people|Chinese]] (presumed)
| occupation         = 
| 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]]-->

The '''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, in the process [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre#Deaths around and in Tiananmen Square itself|killing hundreds or even thousands 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 by 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 the man. 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 4th Tiananmen Square Incident mention the incident of protesters blocking tanks, and regard the "Tank Man" as an iconic symbol of the incident. It has long been circulated that the protester's name is "'''Wang Weilin'''". The name first appeared in the British Sunday Express in its English pinyin "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.

The news documentary {{ill|Flying the Flag of the Republic|zh|飘扬，共和国的旗帜}} produced by the Chinese military film studio [[August First Film Studio]] described the man as a "'''gangster who tried to stop a car with his bare hands'''"{{NoteTag|{{lang-zh|螳臂挡车的歹徒}}, see {{Wiktionary-inline|螳臂当车}}}}. Western society calls this man "'''Tank Man'''" or "'''Unknown''' '''Protester'''". 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 prohibits the circulation of related images on the Internet, which means that most Chinese people are not aware of them. In September 2019, one of the photographers of such photos, Charlie Cole, died in [[Bali, Indonesia]].

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>}}