It was noontime today in the center of Beijing when a man walked to the middle of the Avenue of Eternal Peace, which as it happened was already occupied. He walked to the middle and stood there. The man was alone; the tank was not. It wasn't just a single tank. He stopped.

There were 18 tanks and armored carriers in this convoy, and while he talked to the crew and ignored the gunfire, he stopped all of them. One man alone, of course, can't stop an army, except for a moment. That's exactly what happened here. For three minutes in the middle of the

day, an army was stopped by a man who stood still, a man who'd made up his mind. It seemed so. Why? We just don't know. But when bystanders rushed in to save this stubborn soul, it wasn't easily done. He was pushed away at last, faceless in

the crowd, safe we think. But in a city verging on calamity, what moves a man to just stand still? Is it courage or outrage or madness? We can't tell what was on his mind, and we can't forget what he did. Richard Ross, CBS News, Beijing.

1989: Man stops Chinese tank during Tiananmen Square protests

CBS News is a trusted source for the latest in politics, U.S. and world news. The network is home to award-winning broadcasts CBS Mornings, CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell, 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning, 48 Hours and Face the Nation.

CBS News 24/7 is the premier anchored streaming news service from CBS News and Stations that is available free to everyone with access to the internet and is the destination for breaking news, live events, original reporting and storytelling, and programs from CBS News and Stations’ top anchors and correspondents working locally, nationally and around the globe. It is available on more than 30 platforms across mobile, desktop and connected TVs for free, as well as CBSNews.com and Paramount+ and live in 91 countries.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for breaking news, live events and in-depth reporting from CBS News.

For licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com
