Has It Really Been 25 Years?

   If you can make it out, that's the most iconic picture from the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, and one of the most iconic photos taken in the 20th century. And it happened 25 years ago today, with authorities cracking down on protesters. The man staring down those Type 59 tanks has never officially been identified, and his fate remains unknown. What he did certainly made him an icon for protesters around the world. Not only did he halt the column of tanks, but he kept in front of them when they tried to turn around him. The wonder of it all was that the tanks simply didn't drive over him instead.
   Not only did he halt the tanks, but climbed up on the lead one and talked with the crew, only to climb down and stand in front of them again when they tried to move. Finally, he was pulled away by 2 people, with some reports saying he was executed 2 weeks later. The Chinese Communist Party says they've never found him.
   What is known is the government crackdown killed (in their official numbers) 2 to 3 hundred people. Other estimates out it as high as 1 thousand, possibly even higher. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, more were arrested in the aftermath.
   The Chinese government condemned the protests as a "counter-revolutionary riot", and has prohibited all forms of discussion or remembrance of the events since. And security is said to be heavy for the 25th anniversary today.

TTFN