Elderly people have staged several protests in the provinces of Shandong, Guizhou and Fujian over the past month calling for the leadership to reassess its verdict on the June 4 democracy movement in Tiananmen Square 23 years ago, though experts are pessimistic a reversal is near.
Sun Wenguang, a 77-year-old retired professor formerly with Shandong University, said about 20 rights activists gathered in the capital Jinan on May 6 to commemorate the students and residents who died in the square 23 years ago. Several in the Jinan gathering had been jailed for either taking direct part in the pro-democracy movement or demonstrating against the crackdown later on.
'We are a group of like-minded friends who have met for the fifth time since 2008 to commemorate those killed in Tiananmen Square,' Sun said.
The Jinan meeting was followed by a public memorial organised by a group of rights activists, largely in their 60s or 70s, in the heart of Guiyang , the capital of Guizhou province, on Sunday and Monday.
To the surprise of some domestic and foreign observers, police did not immediately interfere with the protesters, allowing them to chant slogans and hang banners calling for a reversal of the government's stance on the crackdown.
On Wednesday, more than a dozen activists marched to Yanping district court in Nanping , Fujian and unfurled banners calling for a reassessment of the June 4 verdict. 'We went there to vent our anger against the autocratic regime,' said Fan Yanqiong , a 52-year-old woman. 'But we also staunchly support the democratic reforms proposed by Premier Wen Jiabao.'
Fan said the protest lasted for about two hours and they disbanded after reading out a petition calling for support for Wen's position.