An advertising film for the Hessian camera manufacturer Leica has angered the Chinese authorities. The video is to show the emergence of one of the most famous photos in world history: In 1989, an unknown man on Tiananmen Square had faced the approaching tanks. Four press photographers captured the moment from a Beijing hotel, the image of the "Tank Man" went around the world.
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Only: None of the photographers used a Leica camera at the time, as the film suggests. Instead, Jeff Widener (AP), Charlie Cole (Newsweek), Stuart Franklin (Magnum) and Arthur Tsang (Reuters) were working with cameras from Japanese competitor Nikon, as they confirmed on request. Widener, Cole and Franklin also stated that they had not been contacted by Leica or the company's advertising agency.
The film, entitled "The Hunt", shows how a Western photographer was harassed by Chinese security forces during the popular uprising of 1989 and secretly scanned the "Tank Man". At the end, the Leica logo appears.
The video had triggered criticism in China because the suppression of the popular uprising is a taboo there. The film disappeared from the Chinese Internet, searches for "Leica" or similar terms led to error messages. Leica distanced himself from the clip: He was allegedly neither commissioned nor authorized.
Leica promotional film
For the company, the anger is explosive. Leica develops cameras for the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Huawei. Whether the incident endangers the partnership is not yet known. Huawei is a private company, but is considered close to the state for its strategic importance for China's industrial policy agenda, according to experts.
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