Hong Kong remembers 1989 pro-democracy protests
5 Jun 2014 11:23 PM GMT
Tens of thousands gathered in Hong Kong on Wednesday to remember the dead on the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, the only major commemoration in China, as authorities clamped tight security on Beijing.
The White House called for China’s Communist authorities to account for those killed, detained or missing in connection with the June 1989 assault, still a taboo topic for a nation that refuses to allow political reform in line with its dramatic economic transformation.
‘Vindicate 6/4!’ crowds shouted, waving banners, as the sombre candle-lit vigil began in a Hong Kong park.
Lights were turned out as elderly and young alike raised their candles in the dark. The names of those who died in Beijing on 4 June 1989 were read out over loudspeakers. People bowed to pay their respects as film footage of the event was shown on large screens. ‘This event must be instilled in everyone’s heart, we can’t let time dilute this event,’ said 19-year-old student Anna Lau. Similar smaller events were scheduled in Macau and Taipei. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou described the events of 25 years ago as an ‘enormous historical wound’.
Likewise, the United States will continue to ‘urge the Chinese government to guarantee the universal rights and fundamental freedoms that are the birthright of all Chinese citizens’, a White House statement said.
Hundreds of unarmed civilians -- by some estimates, more than 1,000 -- were killed during the June 3-4 crackdown of 1989, when soldiers on foot and in tanks crushed months of peaceful protests by students demanding political liberties to match China’s nascent economic opening up.
Thousands of police and other security forces, some armed with automatic rifles, have been deployed across the Chinese capital this week. Tourists and vendors criss-crossed the vast public square in the heart of the city, but uniformed and plainclothes officers were stationed at every corner and checking ID cards.
Among the crowds packing Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, named for the former British colonial monarch, were many from the Chinese mainland.
‘I came here to take part in this vigil, because in China we don’t have any rights or freedoms... so to express my views I have to come to Hong Kong,’ 35-year-old Huang Waicheng, an engineer from the neighbouring city of Shenzhen, told AFP.
‘In China, there are too few people that know about (the crackdown).’
A 52-year-old business man from China’s neighbouring Guangdong province brought his son to the vigil.
‘Freedom for the whole Chinese nation ought to be the country’s ultimate goal. It’s a good thing that some people still remember (the movement),’ said the man surnamed Li, who declined to give his full name.
The White House called for China’s Communist authorities to account for those killed, detained or missing in connection with the June 1989 assault, still a taboo topic for a nation that refuses to allow political reform in line with its dramatic economic transformation.
‘Vindicate 6/4!’ crowds shouted, waving banners, as the sombre candle-lit vigil began in a Hong Kong park.
Lights were turned out as elderly and young alike raised their candles in the dark. The names of those who died in Beijing on 4 June 1989 were read out over loudspeakers. People bowed to pay their respects as film footage of the event was shown on large screens. ‘This event must be instilled in everyone’s heart, we can’t let time dilute this event,’ said 19-year-old student Anna Lau. Similar smaller events were scheduled in Macau and Taipei. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou described the events of 25 years ago as an ‘enormous historical wound’.
Likewise, the United States will continue to ‘urge the Chinese government to guarantee the universal rights and fundamental freedoms that are the birthright of all Chinese citizens’, a White House statement said.
Hundreds of unarmed civilians -- by some estimates, more than 1,000 -- were killed during the June 3-4 crackdown of 1989, when soldiers on foot and in tanks crushed months of peaceful protests by students demanding political liberties to match China’s nascent economic opening up.
Thousands of police and other security forces, some armed with automatic rifles, have been deployed across the Chinese capital this week. Tourists and vendors criss-crossed the vast public square in the heart of the city, but uniformed and plainclothes officers were stationed at every corner and checking ID cards.
Among the crowds packing Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, named for the former British colonial monarch, were many from the Chinese mainland.
‘I came here to take part in this vigil, because in China we don’t have any rights or freedoms... so to express my views I have to come to Hong Kong,’ 35-year-old Huang Waicheng, an engineer from the neighbouring city of Shenzhen, told AFP.
‘In China, there are too few people that know about (the crackdown).’
A 52-year-old business man from China’s neighbouring Guangdong province brought his son to the vigil.
‘Freedom for the whole Chinese nation ought to be the country’s ultimate goal. It’s a good thing that some people still remember (the movement),’ said the man surnamed Li, who declined to give his full name.
Next Story
