Today is the day of that one photo, the one everyone remembers, you know the one I am referring to, its lucid, calm symbolism etched into the minds of millions, the photo Wang Dan has over his bed in his dorm in Harvard University, the one that has and will gloss every story regarding Tiananmen Massacre forever more. And as much as I too evoked it a month before, on this day, I don’t always feel it appropriate as the sole photo and symbol for the events of this day, for what that one picture does is sanitize the true story of June 4th 1989.
That early morning on June 4th 1989, Beijing was wreaked with chaos and blood outside of veins reigned. All across the city, long before the soldiers reached Tiananmen Square. On June 3rd day, as the PLA started coming in, the residents of Beijing already began to build barricades to stop those under orders to end a counter-revolutionary insurrection, by whatever means. Tear gas was sprayed, canisters exploded into the crowds, and as the tension rose, more people filed onto the streets, Beijing the city decided to protect their young in the heart of China. By night fall the riots began, military vehicles alighted, the protesting students who were unaware of what was going on outside, finally heard the news and began setting fire to their tents. June 4th 1989 was not just a day when tanks rolled and one boy for a short moment attempted to halt its march but a day when the city of Beijing rose against their own government which by all means should be known as an uprising.
It was an incomprehensible day because few and seldom days in history do we ever see a government launch a military attack on its own people. And in the backdrop students sang the “Internationale” and the residents of Beijing shouted “Ting Si, Ting Si” –Stop the killing, Stop the killing” as machine guns fired, people fell, tanks did not stop, and hospitals overflowed.
We love that photo because for a very short moment in time, we were able to witness a nameless every man who had enough human bravery to stand up against the machinery of death and the power of a repressive government. And for the sake of perfection, on the other end, we had a tank driver who did not keep going because his heart also did not allow the metal he was in control of to do the deed. But that is not what happened in the early mornings of June 4th 1989. Human bravery did not triumph against the machinery of death, when the bullets hit soft flesh, no amount of will could stop its outcome.
That one photo should not symbolize June 4th 1989, and what China did. It may symbolize human spirit, the hope of democracy, the devotion to the cause. It may remind us of that each of us can make a stand, and we could face the inevitable without fear. But it does not speak of June 4th 1989. It does not explain the anger so many of us feel towards our government, and why we still to this day still demand a reevaluation.
What happened in June 4th 1989 was bloody, violent, chaotic, disturbing. It was littered with tragedies of sons and daughters not returning home. It was a day where other tank drivers did run over people, gun shots went through the chest, heads were exploded, and limps lost. It is a day that we should remember, not because one person out there stood up, but because our government brought him down. It’s not a day to celebrate humanity. It’s a day to mourn.
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Related Posts: Beijing, June 4th 1989: Blood, Death, Chaos and Not that One Photo.
Hong Kong Holds Candle Light Vigil For Tiananmen Victims.
Can’t Sleep. June 3rd.. So this is how it feels to Live in a Totalitarian Regime huh?
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 
I couldn’t agree more, yet couldn’t have said it better. That photo captured the spirit and courage of the democratic movement – a strong image of defiance. But when cast as the June 4th image, it sanitizes the true story. That picture does say a thousand words, but the whole story and the learnings from it requires millions of words.
Thanks for reminding others that there was also a darker, more desperate situation outside of that photo’s frame…one that is appropriate to share when marking the anniversary, as it underscores the true crime, and why we should remember.
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We will never forget. The irony of a massacre starting right on the site of the Monument to the People
s Heroes is really heartbreaking. Last time I visited Beijing I just observed a one minute silence while gazing at the inscriptions thereon "...the Peoples Heroes are immortal”. The irony is also that the inscriptions were done by the very ruling party that kills its people.I am sad that it is those living outside China have the privilege to do just that without being caught or jailed:
“Late on Thursday, a lone man in his 50s staged a short-lived protest, kneeling to pray at the foot of the Monument to the People`s Heroes at the center of the plaza. He was swiftly taken away by police, a Reuters photographer said.”
He and all those who have not stooped to terror are worth every single respect of us.
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I hate to see such terrible photos, but it tell us who are lying. We could not forget that night, never. And children in China could not be mislead by the government forever.
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