Tiananmen vigil is no place for teens to party; these heroes died

I would like to give some opinion about the June 4 vigil, especially on the teenaged participants.

It is reported that 180,000 citizens attended the June 4 vigil at Victoria Park, paying tribute to those who sacrificed to try to bring democracy to the mainland. However, I doubt the teenagers there really support democracy on the mainland. Nowadays activism seems to be in a 'carnival' atmosphere, meaning many of the teenagers are not mature enough and know little about the issues, but still attend the event.

They tend to see it as nothing more than a way to socialise with friends. They put up smiling photos of themselves, and of groups, on Facebook, which is not appropriate to the situation - a memorial to our national heroes who sacrificed their lives. Some teenagers were even playing cards, which is an affront.

Yes, attendance figures for the vigils have been rising. 'Pass the torch to the next generation' is one of the targets of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. But are these young people really passionate about Chinese democracy? I doubt whether some of them even know the names of the current leaders in Beijing.

I am a Form Six student and just finished open exams. I feel that I'm now closer to society and responsible to know about history, so I read books about social issues, including the June 4 incident, before I took to the streets and attended the vigil.

To be fair, I saw some teenagers who were serious. There were some groups who sang songs of tribute. I appreciated this kind of act, as they were not even alive when the June 4 incident happened. They certainly proved they had more knowledge and critical thinking than those who played cards.

Going to the vigil every year is important, but if there are no real hearts it means nothing even if there are a million candles.

Jack Tam, Sham Tseng