Museum of Resistance and Resilience

Tank Man

This student unnamed, was a long anonymous hero of the pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing, China. He stood, alone, in front of a fleet tank's orders to shoot and kill student protestors in Tiananmen Square. He signals the tanks to stop by displaying the palm of his right hand and slows the tanks from getting to the protestors. He is a strong symbol of Chinese protestor’s heroism and persistence in fighting for democracy and to get rid of communist rule.
He stands in a plain white shirt, dark pants, and two grocery bags in his hands not only represents the typical citizen but his “mystery… enables his enduring presence — that permits him to be a code for so many Western values and desires” (Hernández).

Contents of this annotation: