On June 4, 1989, hundreds of Chinese civilians were shot dead by the Chinese army during a military operation to crush a democratic protest in Peking’s Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Demonstrators, mainly comprised of students, had occupied the square for several weeks demanding democratic reform. The government described the peaceful protest as social chaos and warned that it would do whatever it saw fit to put an end to the demonstration. Tanks rumbled through the streets and the army moved into the square from several directions. The troops began shooting unarmed protesters at random. Though many expected violence, the ferocity of the government’s attack took the world by surprise. The image above is an iconic image and is an important example of visual rhetoric. In the photograph, a student steps in front of a procession of tanks protesting the use of military force in order to silence the public's demand for diplomatic reform. Today, this image is used around the world to display communism in the worst way leaving anyone who sees the image with negative feelings towards this system of government.
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