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The Tank Man (also known as the Unknown Protester or Unknown Rebel) is the nickname given to an unidentified individual, presumed to be a Chinese man, who stood in front of a column of Type 59 tanks leaving Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 5, 1989. On the previous day, the government of China cleared the square of protesting students after six weeks of standoff, in the process killing hundreds or even thousands of people mostly in other parts of Beijing. As the lead tank maneuvered to pass by the man, he repeatedly shifted his position in order to obstruct the tank's attempted path around him, and forced the tanks to halt to avoid running him over; the man then climbed on top of the tank where the PLA soldiers talked to the man. The incident was filmed and shared to a worldwide audience. Internationally, it is considered one of the most iconic images of all time. Inside China, the image and the accompanying events are subject to censorship.

Many documentaries and related exhibitions about the June 4th Tiananmen Square Incident mention the incident of protesters blocking tanks, and regard the "Tank Man" as an iconic symbol of the incident. It has long been circulated that the protester's name is "Wang Weilin". The name first appeared in the British Sunday Express in its English pinyin "Wang Weilin". However, Tank Man's exact identity and whereabouts remain unknown, and different news media have different names for the protester. The PBS program Frontline produced a documentary about the incident in 2006.

The news documentary Flying the Flag of the Republic produced by the Chinese military film studio August First Film Studio described the man as a "gangster who tried to stop a car with his bare hands". Western society calls this man "Tank Man" or "Unknown Protester". In April 1998, Time magazine named "The Unknown Rebel" one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. In 2003, Life magazine published a book called “100 Photos That Changed the World” which also included photos of people blocking a tank convoy. Although the images are regarded as an iconic symbol of the 20th century, the Chinese government prohibits the circulation of related images on the Internet, which means that most Chinese people are not aware of them. In September 2019, one of the photographers of such photos, Charlie Cole, died in Bali, Indonesia.

There is no reliable information about the identity or fate of Tank Man; the story of the tank crew is also unknown. At least one witness has stated that Tank Man was not the only person to have blocked the tanks during the protest.

Full article: Tank Man