Hong Kong filmmaker: Communist Party ‘must face history honestly’ when it comes to Tiananmen Square crackdown
- John Sham was barred from mainland for 15 years but is now free to make movies and runs Dadi Cinema chain
- He believes it was a ‘serious mistake’ to open fire on protesters and calls students motives ‘noble’
Hong Kong filmmaker John Sham Kin-fun was barred from the mainland for 15 years because of his high-profile role in helping students and intellectuals involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests to escape from China.
Then, in 2004, Beijing allowed him to return. Since then, he has been free to make films and run Dadi Cinema, the mainland’s second-biggest chain of movie theatres.
But the 67-year-old has not wavered in his views about the pro-democracy protests and the bloody crackdown of June 4.
“The Communist Party made a serious mistake in opening fire on the protesters and the incident must be vindicated as soon as possible,” Sham said.
“You can’t dismiss the noble motives of the students who came out three decades ago to demand democracy and a clean government out of their love for the country. A regime which is responsible for its people must face history honestly.”