Tens of thousands gather for Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil

HONG KONG : Tens of thousands gathered on Monday for Hong Kong's annual candlelight vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, the only such commemoration on Chinese soil. "We will seek justice for you. A democratic China must come true," Szeto Wah, one of the organisers, said in a speech to the crowd who raised their candles in a dark and packed Victoria Park to remember those who died. The Chinese government sent troops into Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 to quell six weeks of peaceful democracy protests, leading to the deaths of many students and civilians. The annual vigil in Hong Kong has taken on special resonance this year after a local pro-Beijing politician took exception to calling the Tiananmen crackdown, which saw hundreds if not thousands killed, a massacre. The remarks by Ma Lik, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), immediately drew fire from the families of victims, as well as activists and politicians here. Chants of "Down with Ma Lik" were heard occasionally among the crowd, which organisers estimated at 55,000, more than last year's 44,000. Police later said they estimated the crowd at 27,000. Dozens of flowers and wreaths were laid, and songs were sung to commemorate those who died. One of the student leaders of the 1989 protests, Wang Dan, sent a video taped message to the crowd. "It has been 18 years since we held memorials for the June 4 victims, we have to continue with this until the day we see justice," he said as the crowd chanted "Support June 4th. Support human rights." Lau Sze-chun, a 19-year-old student, said he was attending the vigil for the first time to learn more about the event which occurred when he was just one as school textbooks offered few details. "I now have enough knowledge about this and realised the students were only staging a peaceful demonstration. Why did the government use violence? It was not a very humane way to handle this," said Lau. For 83-year-old Pong Yuk-ying, the massacre was more than just books. She watched television and read newspaper reports about an unknown lone protester who faced down a Chinese tank, the iconic image which came to represent the event. She also heard witness accounts from a friend whose sons were studying in Beijing at the time and saw Chinese troops arrive in Tiananmen Square and open fire on students and civilians. "So many unarmed students were only holding a quiet sit-down protest but they were killed. They shouldn't have died like this," she said. "The Chinese government should admit their mistakes." China has never apologised for the incident and has said the military action was necessary to prevent a counter-revolutionary uprising. The bloody crackdown continues to be a taboo subject in the country. Hong Kong, which enjoys special status after Britain handed the territory back to China in 1997, is the only part of Chinese territory where the events of Tiananmen will be commemorated. Chen Huoyen, who recently moved to Hong Kong from southeast China to be with his family, said he felt lucky to have the freedom to attend such events which are banned on the mainland. "I was so moved by the vigil last time that I had to come back this year," said Chen, 58. "I sympathise with those students who were killed for no reason. The government should have had a dialogue with them but shouldn't have shot them." - AFP/so/de

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