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Not ‘cold-blooded’ to call for end to commemoration of June 4, Chinese University student union says
Leader Au Tze-ho clarifies that group has no issue with mourning lives lost in 1989 Tiananmen crackdown; says criticism was aimed at format of annual vigil
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s student union has rejected criticism that it was “cold-blooded” in issuing a statement saying the time to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown had come to an end.
Union president Au Tze-ho told students to remove their representatives from office if they were unhappy with the position taken.
But Au also clarified on Monday that the group did not see any problem with people wanting to mourn those killed in Beijing’s bloody crackdown in 1989. What the union took issue with was the format of the annual vigil, Au said.
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He made the remarks after a sea of candles lit up Hong Kong’s Victoria Park at the event on Sunday night – the only large-scale commemoration of the crackdown held on Chinese soil, as such activities or even mention of the incident on the mainland have been restricted.
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“I don’t feel I am cold-blooded,” Au said on a Commercial Radio programme on Monday. “What we felt was that there was no need to organise an event for collective mourning. June 4 is a very important event for Hong Kong. There is no problem with you mourning the deaths personally. What we take issue with is the format of the commemoration.”
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