Time to commemorate Tiananmen crackdown has come to an end, student union says
Chinese University of Hong Kong student union issues statement that prompts fierce condemnation from supporters of the annual June 4 vigil
While Hong Kong is the only place on Chinese soil where large-scale commemorative events can still be held, support for such activities has waned in recent years amid the rise of localism in the city. Student unions from all the city’s universities said they would boycott the vigil on Sunday for the second year in a row.
The Chinese University statement read: “The union believes the commemoration has come to an end, and June 4 needs to be marked with a full stop until the echo resounds.”
The union criticised vigil organiser the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, saying it had turned the event into a ritual and “made use of the public’s moral sentiment to build up its political capital”.