The Tank Man of Tiananmen Square

Image Copyright: Jeff Widener (The Associated Press)

On June 5, 1989, one day after Chinese troops expelled thousands of demonstrators from Tiananmen Square in Beijing, a solitary and unarmed protester stood his ground before a column of tanks advancing down the Avenue of Eternal Peace. Captured by Western photographers watching nearby, this confrontation became an icon of the fight for freedom around the world.

This evening, on SBS television, I watched a Cutting Edge documentary on the Tank Man of Tianamen Square. It was confronting, and I must admit that although I knew the image, I didn't know the background of the uprising. This was a people's uprising against the then government of China over oppression and civil rights. It is the actions of governments such as these which make me Angry.

I am fortunate enough to live in one of the greatest countries in the world. In Australia we enjoy vast freedoms, which many of us have no idea how lucky we truly are. We accept it as part of our mandate for being here. We have a huge multi-cultural community, and yet we still have a true sense of ourselves as a nation. Apart from our indigenous aboriginals, to whom we should be sorry, we have never been an oppressed or discouraged people.

I'm proud to be Australian, and I hope that we can be passionate about calling out for justice around the world. I'm far from perfect, yet I hope that for my kid's sake, that if pushed I could stand up to a tank in an act of defiance against a considerably greater force for what I believed in. Little remains known of Tank Man's identity, however, as a symbol of an individual's power to halt government and force a change in direction it cannot be denied.

Ciao for Now, Saluting the Tank Man Angry Dad.