Tales Of Two Protests: Tiananmen Square And The George Floyd Protests
Tank Man. Do you remember him? He was the, well, not the face, but the silhouette of 1989’s Tiananmen Square Protests and Massacre. Bravely, he stood in front of a line of tanks to hinder their advance. At one point, he climbed up on one of the tanks. It was reported he spoke to the soldiers inside, and asked them, “Why are you here? You have caused nothing but misery.” Then, he was taken away. No one knows his real identity. He is only known as the Tank Man, or the Unknown Rebel.
Most of us here in the US probably don’t remember all the details of the Tiananmen Square Protests. Probably what we remember most is the image of Tank Man. Currently, the US has been experiencing over a week of protests connected to the death of George Floyd. So far the iconic image for these protests is the image of Mr Floyd with Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck.
The Tank Man image was taken near the end of the Tiananmen Square Protests, whereas the image, and murder of George Floyd was the trigger for the current protests in the US.
Two Protests
The Tiananmen Protests had been going on for weeks. The protests began after the death of Hu Yaobang. He had been a leader in the Chinese government and an advocate for greater freedom and democratic reforms. Unfortunately, these reforms were not favoured, and when he passed, Hu was not given the honours someone in his position would normally have received. The protests began as a way of remembering him and advocating for reforms the Chinese people saw as important.
The protestors in Beijing initially just wanted respect for Hu Yaobang. Because of his advocacy for democratic reforms he was treated as a second class citizen. Not only was he not given a state funeral, but his supporters were not able to attend the funeral that did happen and pay their respects to a man they admired. Instead, they chose to protest in Tiananmen Square.
Protestors in Tiananmen Square wanted respect for the departed and additionally demanded greater democracy, free speech, and a free press. The protestors in the US want justice for the death of Mr Floyd. They want him respected. One of their mantras is “Say his name!” As when African Americans have been killed by police previously, they want him respected and remembered. The protests have grown though. This has come to be about the inequality African American people experience. It has come to be about aggression and over-militarization of the police.
Although the Chinese protests are known to most as the Tiananmen Square Protests, the protests actually spread across the Chinese nation. Protests were also held in almost 250 other cities. The current protests in the US started in Minneapolis, but have likewise spread across the nation.
The primary reason the world knew about the protests in Tiananmen Square was because the media was there to cover a visit by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the pictures of Tank Man were spread across the world. George Floyd’s murder was filmed by a teenage girl with a camera built into her phone.
The news media in the US is bigger and freer than that in China. The media here has kept George Floyd’s story alive and documented further abuses by law enforcement against protestors and the press. State media in China, and the oppressive regime have nearly erased the protests in Tiananmen Square for the Chinese. Many don’t even know the protests happened.
Protests End
To end the protests in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese sent in the Army. While the official death count is 241 people, the actual number is believed to be between 800-4000.
While the protests sparked by George Floyd’s death are not over yet, they are diminishing. People are feeling heard. Today, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced charges for the rest of the officers involved in Mr Floyd’s death and elevated the charges against Officer Chauvin to Second Degree Murder. These charges have been one of the specific demands of protestors.
The Duelling Legacies Of Tiananmen Square Protests And The George Floyd Protests
The legacy of the Tiananmen protests was, tragically, that the Chinese government cracked down on protestors, media, and pro-democracy movements. The force and power of the State was brought to bear on the Chinese people and institutions.
Here in the US, the National Guard has been called out in many states. President Donald Trump has invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807 and threatened to use the US military to quell the protests and civil unrest. The result of China’s Tiananmen Square protests was more totalitarian control and oppression. Despite calls for peace, love, patience, and understanding, President Trump has decided to proclaim himself the “Law and Order” President and seems to only want the protests to go away. Fortunately, others are listening. Others care and are speaking for and seeking peace, love, patience, and understanding.
We are at a crossroads. Will President Trump’s law and order statism win the day like it did for the Chinese? Will America rise to the challenges we are facing and improve ourselves, enabling and empowering healing and progress for African Americans specifically and minorities of all kinds in general?
Which principles do you support? What will you do to support those principles? Will you be like Tank Man, or Law and Order Man? Will you allow Statism and prejudice to continue or will you support healing, rights, and a new dawn for our American society? In this tale of two protests, which ending are you working for?
Garrett Leeds is the founder of the Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness Project
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