Sea of candles in Hong Kong at June 4 vigil despite boycott calls

Tens of thousands of candles lit up Victoria Park last night in what was at the same time communal mourning for pro-democracy protesters killed in and around Tiananmen Square 27 years ago and a show of defiance to those who believe the gathering is a waste of time. Despite a student-led boycott of the annual candlelight vigil – which saw a much smaller number gather at alternative events across the city – organisers put the turnout in the park at 125,000, 10,000 down from last year and the lowest since the 20th anniversary vigil in 2009. Police said 21,800 people were in Victoria Park at the height of the gathering. A total of about 2,500 joined alternative events at two universities where student unions staged their own forums to focus attention on Hong Kong’s own future. Participants at the vigil filled six soccer fields at Victoria Park to mourn those whose death remains a taboo on the mainland. Before the event started, about 10 people stormed the stage and shouted pro-independence slogans for several seconds. The youngsters who defied their peers’ calls and attended Victoria Park shared a common desire to experience the atmosphere that has for many years defined Hong Kong’s core values. “As a Chinese, it is my responsibility to make China more democratic,” said 12-year-old Terence Chan Tin-long, who came with his father. Crowds might be down but Hong Kong’s June 4 spirit remains strong with donations up 30 per cent to HK$1.74 million Hazel Leung, an undergraduate student at Chinese University, dismissed the comment that the vigil was too ritualistic. “The ceremony, the tradition and the belief cannot be separated,” she said. Why Hong Kong’s student leaders are abandoning June 4 vigil Lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised the vigil, called on participants to keep on pursuing justice. “In the history of mankind, there have never been so many people who gathered at the same venue to protest [against a massacre] for so many years,” said Ho, who added that he was very proud of the turnout. The vigil was subject to criticism from students who dismissed the slogan of building a democratic China. Through their two forums, they wanted to show how the pursuit of democracy could take a form different from that “fixated” by the alliance. “I came here because I would be able to listen to different people’s points of views,” said Johnny Lau, a first-year student at the Academy of Performing Arts who attended the Chinese University event. One of the main differences at the alternative events was the manner in which participants honoured those who died. In the Chinese University session there was no moment of silence. Union chief Ernie Chow Shue-fung cited a lack of time and inconsistency with their theme. However, silence was observed at the University of Hong Kong event, just as vigil participants did in Victoria Park. In Beijing, the authorities detained several activists while others were placed under surveillance in the run-up to June 4. Six human rights activists, including poet Liang Taiping, had been held by Beijing police since Thursday after holding a private ceremony marking June 4, according to Agence France-Presse. Yesterday, a dozen relatives, three in wheelchairs, were taken by officers to mourn their loved ones at the Wanan cemetery in Beijing, which was otherwise closed to the public. Reading the oration in a defiant tone at the cemetery, Huang Jinping, whose husband was 30 when he was shot in the abdomen, said: “The righteous will ultimately defeat the evil ones.” Tsai Ing-wen, newly sworn in as Taiwan’s president, urged Beijing to give its people greater rights, saying that the island offered an experience in democratisation. China’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, responded angrily to the US State Department’s statement demanding an end to the harassment of commemorators and a full public account of what happened on June 4, 1989. China, according to ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩), “has already had the final verdict” on the “political turbulence” in the late 1980s. However, not every mainland person shared her thoughts. Mr Liu travelled from Shunde in Guangdong to attend the Victoria Park vigil. “As a human being, I have to come here and not forget things selectively,” Liu said. Additional reporting by Phila Siu

Sea of candles in Hong Kong at June 4 vigil despite boycott calls

Organisers say 125,000 people took part in the Victoria Park event, while another 2,500 attended alternative events at two university campuses