Who hasn’t seen those images? A man, alone, wearing a white shirt and holding a shopping bag. In front of him, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 5th 35 years ago, there were four tanks of the Chinese army, which the day before had fired on the young demonstrators who were demanding greater freedoms causing the death of hundreds, maybe thousands of them.
Who is the «Unknown Rioter»
Nobody knows who that man is: they called him the «Unknown rioter” or “Tank Man», precisely because with a courageous action he prevented the tanks from advancing into the square. He even climbed onto the turret of one of the military vehicles: he was taken away and nothing more was heard of him.
The Unknown Rioter has become the symbol of the Tiananmen Square protests. A symbol, still today, 35 years later, of the courage to oppose the violence of the regimes. Today in China the topic is a taboo. Censorship And disinformation of the Communist Party withheld information about that event involving hundreds of cities of the Asian country and which ended with purges of politicians and soldiers who had not opposed the violent repression of those who had taken to the streets.
Hu Yaobang and the protests
The riots began on April 15, 1989, with the death of a heart attack Hu Yaobangformer Party leader and well-known reformist. The public mourning it immediately became a way to protest against the premature and unfair dismissal of the former manager, dismissed two years earlier. For some, the way he was treated contributed to his deteriorating health. Many young Chinese considered it a symbol of hope and change.
The demonstrations, which remained peaceful, called for more freedom of the press And participation to political life, more transparency in government, the fight against corruption et al nepotism. However, concern increased in the communist government of the time, which saw the protests as one threat to safety of China.
The Prime Minister Li Peng and the leader de facto of the country Deng Xiaopingdecided to use force: between 3 and 4 June tanks and rifles fired on the demonstrators, killing many (the exact number is not known due to censorship).
