Beltway Confidential

What a president couldn’t teach, ‘tank man’ did

By Quin Hillyer
Published June 3, 2019 6:31pm ET
Add Washington Examiner on Google
What a president couldn’t teach, ‘tank man’ did
In this June 5, 1989, file photo, a Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing's Changan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on Jeff Widener who created the iconic image of "tank man" says its time for China's government to "come clean" about the bloody events of June 3-4 1989. | (Jeff Widener/AP)

When the Chinese government slaughtered unknown numbers of its own citizens in Tiananmen Square 30 years ago on June 4 (Chinese time), Americans waited in vain for their own president, George H.W. Bush, to issue a stirring ode to freedom.

The ode, though, was delivered in photographic form with the image of the lone, thin man standing, unyielding, before a Chinese tank.

Already a print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.

Tag:

China Communism George H.W. Bush Human Rights Tiananmen Square