An activist whose legs were crushed by a tank during the 1989 military crackdown in Tiananmen Square has arrived in Hong Kong to join locals in activities marking the 23rd anniversary of the bloodshed.
Fang Zheng, 46, flew in from his home in San Francisco on a Chinese passport and will be allowed to stay in Hong Kong until Wednesday.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China invited him to the city to attend a series of events, including the candle-light vigil in Victoria Park on Monday.
Today, Fang is expected to visit activists from the Federation of Students who yesterday started a 64-hour hunger strike outside Times Square in Causeway Bay.
'I have come to talk to people, especially young people, so that they can know the truth about the June 4 killings,' Fang said. 'The most effective weapon to fight the communist regime is to refuse to forget what the government wants us to forget, and to refuse to forget what the government has done.
'We June 4 activists overseas have always known that Hong Kong people are still very much concerned about June 4. We are very moved.'Shielded by the 'one country, two systems' policy guaranteed by Beijing, Hong Kong is the only place on Chinese soil where large-scale activities marking the Tiananmen Square killings are tolerated.