Exhibition on Tiananmen Square crackdown opens
An exhibition on the Tiananmen Square crackdown, organised by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, opened at the City University of Hong Kong on Monday and will run until 15 July.
Chairman Lee Cheuk-yan of the alliance said on a radio programme on Monday morning that he hoped visitors would be able to learn more about the events leading up to the crackdown on June 4, 1989, in Beijing.
Lee said more than 20 secondary schools and two universities had already signed up for guided tours of the exhibition.
He also said that he hoped to find a permanent home for the artefacts and material relating to the crackdown.
The alliance has already raised HK$3 million of the HK$5 million it needs to set a permanent home for the artefacts.
Two philanthropists will together donate up HK$10,000 to the alliance for this purpose on the basis of HK$10 for each photo taken by the visitors to the exhibition. The photos will be uploaded onto the exhibition organiser’s web site.
In April 1989, many students gathered in and around Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, and other cities on the mainland, such as Shanghai and Wuhan. The peaceful demonstrations called for continued economic reform and liberalisation, and grew into a mass movement for political reform and freedom of the press.
The central government declared martial law, claiming the protest had developed into a riot. On June 4, a military crackdown began, with soldiers and tanks firing on demonstrators to clear the protest, killing many.
