Legco votes down pan-democrats’ motion to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown
- The motion, tabled by Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai, was defeated 28 to 23 with nine abstentions, the 19th time it has been tabled and rejected since 1999
- Wu said the pro-democracy camp would persist to ensure the crackdown is not forgotten
A motion calling for Hong Kong people to remember the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown was defeated in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, two months before the 30th anniversary of the repression of the pro-democracy movement.
Pro-Beijing lawmakers largely remained silent while officials did not attend or respond to the three-hour debate – the 19th time the motion has been tabled and defeated since 1999.
A total of 23 pro-democracy legislators supported the motion, tabled by the Democratic Party’s chairman Wu Chi-wai, while 28 voted against it and nine abstained.
The non-binding motion sought to condemn the central government’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in the centre of Beijing on June 4, 1989, in which many activists died.
Though the death toll may never be known, hundreds – possibly more than 1,000 – died.
Tabling the motion, Wu said Hong Kong people need to persevere in calling for the vindication of the pro-democracy movement, as such a call was “the most powerful weapon against an autocracy” that wants what happened in 1989 to be forgotten.
“Through our persistence, we can make sure that the truth will not vanish in our memory … Some people said our annual commemorations were only ceremonial, but still we need more friends to walk with us,” he said.
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Pro-democracy activists in the city have traditionally used the run-up to June 4 to lobby support for their cause and hold peaceful memorial ceremonies. On the day itself, there is a mass vigil in Victoria Park.
Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu also said Beijing could only heal the wounds of June 4 by facing up to what it did 30 years ago.
“Some people asked why we don’t allow the wounds to heal … but it was not us who refused to let them heal, it was the central government and the pro-establishment parties in Hong Kong,” he said.
Members of the three largest pro-Beijing parties, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the Federation of Trade Unions and the Business and Professionals Alliance remained silent and voted against the motion.
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While 22 of the 26 pro-democracy lawmakers spoke during the debate, only three from the 43-member pro-Beijing camp gave their views on the matter.
The trio – Liberal Party leader Felix Chung Kwok-pan, non-affiliated member Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, and Tony Tse Wai-chuen, who represents the architectural, surveying, planning and landscape sector – also abstained from the vote, alongside three other Liberals.
Chung argued that it was more important for Hong Kong people to appreciate the progress that China has made.
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“June 4 was a tragedy, and my generation still remembers it vividly … Yet the country’s freedom, living environment and technology has improved a lot, and it will continue to improve,” he said.
Ho also echoed Chung’s point. “One death was too many … But I am glad that nowadays the Chinese people can witness the extraordinary path that our nation has walked in the past decades,” he said.
In 2017, Ho broke ranks and voted in favour of the motion, after praising the student protesters and describing them as people who loved the country and wished for it to be better. He abstained from the vote last year.
