The Untold Story Behind Tiananmen Square Tank Man (Repost of OC)

Line of Tanks stopped by one man.... Or was it?

(i spent a bit of time looking for this info after a comment discussion of that singer, so i figured i would post this again. credit: http://imgur.com/gallery/Djx0N )

Historic Standoff
Although everyone around the world has heard of the anonymous, white-shirted protester who stood before a line of tanks and literally stopped them in their tracks, little is known about the man who almost ran him over. Who is the real hero here: the man who stood before the tank, or the man inside it who hit the brakes?

On the morning of June 5th, 1989, Corporal Wen Zhang, of the People's Liberation Army sat down in the driver's seat of his T-69 tank on the front left side looking out of his small bullet proof window. Wen Zhang had grown up on a farm near Shijiazhuang, and had never been to the city before he rolled down Chang'an Blvd toward Tiananmen Square in the middle of Beijing. Zhang had been instructed by his superiors that he and the others were entering the city to clear out "hoodlums" that opposed the government he had loyally served for two years.

As Wen's tank traveled down the boulevard, his tank commander took the lead of a line of 8 tanks, after which another 60 tanks would re position behind them. As Wen wiped the condensation from his brow, he noted a solitary figure blocking his path: a man in a white t-shirt with two shopping bags. In order to avoid hitting the man, he slammed on the breaks of the T-69, bringing 83,000 pounds of metal and artillery to a jerking halt.

As the other tanks came to a halt behind him, Wen received the order to "Proceed!" In an effort to avoid the man, Wen disengaged the breaks and attempted to go around him, but to his consternation, the man deliberately moved into the path of the tank to block it again.

Then, the pivotal moment:

With the voice of the Armour Battalion Commander screaming at him to proceed- despite the obstacle, Corporal Wen Zhang of the People's Liberation Army reached over and turned off the huge V-12, 730hp engine. As he did so, the other tanks behind him repeated the action; each turning off their engine in turn. Although utterly stumped by the situation, Corporal Zhang chose to follow his conscience rather than the command of his superior officer, and caused an event that not only led China to change their economic policies and allow their people more individual and civil rights, but also he inspired the citizens of East Berlin to adopt the following as their battle cry: "If one man can stop the Chinese Army, we can tear down the Iron Curtain!"

But it didn't take one man to stop the tanks, my friends. It took two.
All credit for this story goes to Captain Rick Rubel of the U.S. Navy (retired), author of Case Studies in Ethics for Military Leaders.

Rubel, Captain W. Rick and Dr. George R. Lucas. Case Studies in Ethics for Military Leaders, Third Edittion. New York: Learning Solutions, 2011. (p.99-101)