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Tiananmen Square crackdown
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Update | Victoria Park lit up at June 4 vigil as 'localist' groups stage alternative rallies

Organisers of Tiananmen vigil claim 135,000 people turned out for the event but police placed attendance numbers at just 46,600 at its peak

Watch: Hong Kong student groups split over future of Tiananmen Square crackdown legacy

A sea of candles lit up Victoria Park last night as mourners remembered victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Alternative rallies were held at other venues by groups claiming Hongkongers had no responsibility to help build a democratic China, a traditional slogan of the main annual vigil.

People light their neighbours' candles. Photo: Nora Tam
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China put the turnout at 135,000, down from the record of more than 180,000 reported last year. Police said the crowd peaked at 46,600, compared with 99,500 last year.

Alliance chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan said: "It is quite a significant figure. It shows Hongkongers still insist on [Beijing] vindicating [victims of] June 4."

Members of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China take to the stage at the vigil. Photo: Felix Wong
A man who gave his name as K.L. Chiu brought his five-year-old son to the vigil as he believed the next generation should know what happened 26 years ago. He said he understood why 'localism' appealed to many but that people should still attend the vigil. "What happened [in 1989] was wrong and that fact will not change simply because of the nationality of the casualties," he said. Localism has gained ground in recent years amid growing anti-mainland sentiment.

Beijinger William Gao, who was taking part for the first time, said: "It's a shame I need to fly more than 1,000 kilometres to commemorate a bloody tragedy in my hometown. My wish is that one day the vigil can take place everywhere in China."

"The commemoration of June 4 … has been a lesson of politics and democracy for many young people," she said from Los Angeles. "I believe that is why they stood up so courageously in the 'umbrella movement' to fight for universal suffrage."

Representatives of four university student unions burned a copy of the Basic Law. They said they wanted to amend Article 45, which states chief executive candidates will be named by a nominating committee when universal suffrage is introduced.

Crowds gather at the stage in Victoria Park. Photo: Felix Wong
The University of Hong Kong union for the first time organised a public assembly on campus in Pok Fu Lam. It said 2,000 people attended. And organisers said 1,000 joined a rally in Tsim Sha Tsui by 'nativist' groups.

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