1989 Tiananmen Square protests front of tanks." In February 2011, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in response to an uprising in Benghazi against his rule, held up China's 1989 military assault on Tiananmen Square as an example of how to deal with popular unrest. Chinese media censored Gaddafi's reference to Tiananmen Square. Since Tiananmen, the iconic "Tank Man" image has become a worldwide symbol for civil disobedience. What happened to the "Tank Man" following the demonstration is not known. Some say he was pulled away and went into hiding, others say he was executed by the authorities. "Time" dubbed him "The Unknown Rebel" and later
1989 Tiananmen Square protests at universities in other cities, with many students traveling to Beijing to join the demonstration. Generally, the demonstration at Tiananmen Square was well ordered, with daily marches of students from various Beijing-area colleges displaying their solidarity with the class boycott and with the demands of the protest. The students sang "The Internationale", the world socialist anthem, on their way to, and at, the square. Afraid that the movement would spin out of control, Deng Xiaoping asked that the Square be cleared for Gorbachev's visit. Executing Deng's request, Zhao again used a soft approach, and directed his subordinates to coordinate negotiations