Hong Kong Marks Tiananmen Square Massacre

Posted: June 5th, 2012 | Author: Verity Penfold | Filed under: China, Revolute | Tags: china, Hong Kong, Macau, Tiananmen Square, Tiananmen Square Massacre | Comments Off

A huge crowd has gathered in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to mark the anniversary of the CPC, PLA – Communist Party of China, Peoples Liberation Army - 1989 massacre of peaceful protests by dissidents and students in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.

Twenty-three years ago the People’s Liberation Army drove tanks into the heart of Beijing and soldiers fired on unarmed student protesters, killing an unknown number of people in and around Tiananmen Square.

Beijing residents trying to protect the students were also killed in large numbers. Human rights activists estimated the death toll might have been in the thousands.

China’s state controlled media never mentions the bloody end to months of student unrest two 23 years ago, in the Chinese capital this anniversary passes pretty much unnoticed by the mainland population ::::

“The trend of democracy cannot be blocked,” Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, told the crowd in a speech. ”Never forget June 4. Democracy for China now! Long live democracy!”

Tiananmen Square has been the site of a number of political events and student protests. Including the May 4th Movement in 1919; the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949; annual mass military displays on all subsequent National Days until October 1, 1959; the 1984 military parade for the 35th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, the 50th anniversary in 1999, and the 60th anniversary in 2009; the Tiananmen Square protests in 1976 after the death of premier Zhou Enlai.

Hong Kong held a candlelight vigil Monday to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, in stark contrast to mainland China where activists said hundreds of people were detained. Hong Kong’s Victoria Park glowed with candlelight in what has become an annual act of remembrance for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people killed in the June 3-4, 1989 onslaught against pro-democracy activists in Beijing.

Lee Cheuk-yan estimated that 180,000 people attended the event. China still considers the Tiananmen demonstrations a “counter-revolutionary rebellion” and has refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing or consider compensation for those killed.

There were solemn moments as the names of parents who lost their children were read out. Flowers were offered for those who died in 1989 and the massive gathering bowed in unison as a mark of respect. Many of the people gathered in Victoria Park wore t-shirts or stickers pledging to never forget June 4, 1989.

Hong Kong and Macau are the only Chinese territories where such commemorations are allowed and participants say they want to keep the memory of the pro-democracy movement alive. In Macau protests were a low-key, The Macau Daily Times reported that Tiananmen Square bustled with tourists and there was no sign of increased security or protests on the 23rd anniversary of the military crackdown, as the country prepares for a once-a-decade leadership transition.

Dozens of police vehicles were stationed at the eastern and western approaches to Tiananmen Square, as they are on most days, and traffic crawled along Chang’an Avenue, the main route taken by the army tanks that flooded into the square in 1989. Tourist groups followed flag-toting guides around the area.

“We have to let everyone know about the true history of these events,” one young woman told AFP. ”We have to be persistent in letting Chinese people and Hong Kong people know what really happened, what the hidden truth is.”

On mainland China, the day of the anniversary, the Communist Party- controlled People’s Daily ran a Chinese-language editorial warning that “external forces” shouldn’t intervene in the conflict roiling Syria.

In Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou issued a statement saying that China, which claims sovereignty over the island, should learn from the Tiananmen crackdown and that adopting political changes can contribute to domestic stability.

“The two sides still remain divided on human rights issues and such differences would have to be dealt with if cross-strait ties are to deepen,” said Ma, who was re-elected by popular vote in January.

Searches on China’s popular social media sites for June 4, the number 23, the words “candle” and “Victoria” were blocked.

The Dui Hua Foundation, which advocates for prisoners in China, estimates that the government is holding less than 12 of the thousands of people detained in the crackdown, according to a May 31 statement. The group said it hadn’t gotten a response from the government about such prisoners since September 2009. It listed the names of seven people it believes are still held.

Tiananmen veteran Fang Zheng, whose legs were crushed by a tank as the PLA rolled into the square said: “You have all not forgotten what happened 23 years ago. Thank you all for 23 years of support.”

Even the organisers of the rally did not expect such an enormous response.

It could be because the Chinese authorities have been coming down harder on dissent of late, such as in the cases of blind activist Chen Guangcheng or jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.

In mainland China, police have arrested activists and placed others under increased surveillance to stop them marking the anniversary.

Mei Zuheng, whose activist parents were arrested last week, says he hopes democracy will one day come to his country.

“China is like an apple that is rotten inside,” he said.

“On the surface you see little. People think the apple is still edible. But it is not. Our whole system needs changing or we’ll never have human rights.”

Searches on China’s popular social media sites for June 4, the number 23, the words “candle” and “Victoria” were blocked.

Around 75,000 people attended last year’s vigil in Hong Kong, according to police estimates. Organizers of this year’s Hong Kong protests say that a new museum honoring the victims attracted around 6,000 visitors in the month since it opened, a quarter of them from China.