A redditor who calls himself strange-individual1 says that he saw the above “meme” in a pro–Chinese Communist Party subreddit, and he wonders “do they not know the backstory of this?? How can think these people really care when there was a literal massacre the day before?”
They know the background. You can’t know about Tank Man without knowing something about why he was out there.
By the beginning of June, the government was ready to act again. On the night of June 3–4, [1989,] tanks and heavily armed troops advanced toward Tiananmen Square, opening fire on or crushing those who again tried to block their way. Once the soldiers reached the square, a number of the few thousand remaining demonstrators there chose to leave rather than face a continuation of the confrontation. By morning the area had been cleared of protesters, though sporadic shootings occurred throughout the day. The military also forcibly moved in against protesters in several other Chinese cities, including Chengdu, but in Shanghai the mayor, Zhu Rongji (later to become the premier of China), was able to negotiate a peaceful settlement. By June 5 the military had secured complete control, though during the day there was a notable, widely reported incident involving a lone protester—who was subsequently dubbed “Tank Man”—facing down a column of tanks as it advanced on him near the square.
Tank Man is important because of what he represents, a willingness to risk everything to stand up to tyranny, however momentarily or ineffectually, not because the drivers of the tanks felt a qualm.
The above image, originally posted and perhaps confected by a redditor styled TankiesAndTankinis, is accompanied by the legend “China Cares More Than America Ever Will.”
Of course, “China” and “America” are not two guys who either care or don’t care about things; it’s a bunch of guys in each place. Nor can any intelligible argument be conveyed or any false conclusion rendered true by thus slapping together a couple of propagandistically labeled but unexplained images.
American police and government officials have done plenty of bad things over the years. We see more examples whenever we pick up a newspaper. But when we compare the track records of evils committed, it is clear that the modern Chinese party-state emerges as by far the more oppressive, murderous, and evil of the two regimes. The American legacy is much more mixed. In the United States, libertarian and individualist values and ideas have more scope for expression and, although under constant attack, are not so consistently and thoroughly hunted and punished as in China.
I think we must suspect that TankiesAndTankinis has misunderstood his or her or their marching orders. The CCP doesn’t object to propaganda that is implausible—barking it loudly and proudly and repetitively is its antidote to this unavoidable problem. But does the CCP want anybody to be talking about or alluding to the Tiananmen Square massacre at all? Even a little?
Also see:
StopTheChinazis.org: “What Would You Have Done?”
A poster helping everybody remember Tank Man’s action and asking this question.
