Whatever happened to the Tank Man?

PBS's Frontline had a fascinating documentary on Tuesday night, focusing in on that solitary symbol of China in 1989, the Tiananmen Tank Man.

Many still recall the visual image of a single protestor, standing in front of a column of tanks making one last stand for the democracy movement before the guns would blaze and the slaughter would begin.

Film maker Antony Thomas crafted together a detailed examination not only of the Tank Man's stand, but the events leading up to and culminating in the massacres at Tiananmen Square and other parts of Beijing in the late spring of 1989.

The follow up to those events shows a Chinese government that has tried to purge any images of the time, trying to erase any indication that the People's Army took up arms against its very own people.

With the government in China continuing to exert control over the dissemination of information, (the media and internet the latest battleground of control), its not a surprise to learn that few of the students in university in China today know anything of the heady days of June 89.

Much has changed in China in the last seventeen years, the nation has opened a window on the world and become a much more forceful player on the world stage, while continuing to try and keep control of its own people at home. Frontline's documentary on Tuesday provided an amazing look at how the Chinese continue to walk the line between contact with the outside world and control of the message within.

It will no doubt be replayed again this week on the PBS affiliates, but for a complete look at the story and an online showing this Friday check out the Frontline website here for full information.

Thomas will also be on line Wednesday morning at 11 am EST (8 AM) PST for an on line chat about his documentary and his thoughts on the China of 1989 and the directions for China today!