Hong Kong Holds Mass Vigil on Tiananmen Anniversary

An estimated 150,000 people held a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre.
Hong Kong Holds Mass Vigil on Tiananmen Anniversary
A record number of people attend the candlelight vigil. (Li Ming/The Epoch Times)
6/5/2009
Updated:
6/6/2009
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/50451371Vigil_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/50451371Vigil_medium.jpg" alt="A record number of people attend the candlelight vigil. (Li Ming/The Epoch Times)" title="A record number of people attend the candlelight vigil. (Li Ming/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-87051"/></a>
A record number of people attend the candlelight vigil. (Li Ming/The Epoch Times)

HONG KONG—An estimated 150,000 people held a vigil at Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4, 2009, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The ceremony, hosted by Hong Kong Alliance In Support Of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, had a record turnout compared to the first anniversary held in 1990.

The participants in the ceremony consisted mostly of young people. However, there were also many mainland Chinese and foreign tourists.

Many people had already arrived at Victoria Park before 6 p.m., and the large crowd started pouring in after dark. Six football fields were packed with people before 8 p.m. The organizers had to open extra areas, including grass areas and basketball fields, to accommodate more people, which delayed the ceremony for about 30 minutes.

The vigil began with a recorded speech of former regime leader, Zhao Ziyang. The chairman of the Alliance, Mr. Szeto Wah, then led a group of young people born on 1989 to present flowers, followed by igniting the democracy torch and announcing the names of some victims of the Massacre. The crowd also observed one minutes silence to pay tribute to the Tiananmen victims and listened to a recorded speech made by a Tiananmen mother, Ms. Ding Zilin.

Mr. Xiong Yan who was a student leader during the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989, praised Hong Kong as the pride of the entire world and China, “Tonight, amidst this sea of candle lights and in our suffering hearts, we again share a common dream–a common dream that in the near future the totalitarian Chinese Communist regime will eventually be removed from the stage of history.”

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/8081371Vigil2_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/8081371Vigil2_medium.jpg" alt="Hong Kong holds candlelight vigil marking 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre. (Li Ming/The Epoch Times)" title="Hong Kong holds candlelight vigil marking 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre. (Li Ming/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-87052"/></a>
Hong Kong holds candlelight vigil marking 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre. (Li Ming/The Epoch Times)


Vice chairman of the Alliance, Mr. Lee Cheuk-Yan and two standing committee chairs jointly read the declaration stating that “June 4, 1989, was the darkest day in modern Chinese history. Deng, Li, Yang (former Party leader Deng Xiaoping, former Premier Li Peng, and former President Yang Shangkun) collectively ordered the army to crack down on Tiananmen Square and shoot harmless citizens and students, and mobilize tanks to crush people who were fleeing.“

“The world was shocked by the June 4th Tiananmen Square Massacre. Chinese all over the world mourned for the victims. June 4 became a national memorial day and people will not forget it.”

The organizers announced that a record number of people, about 150,000, had attended the vigil, topping the 100,000 people for the 1st anniversary in 1990.

One of the participants was Mr. Lu who had not participated in this event for years. He told The Epoch Times that he came out to remind the Chinese regime of the mistakes they had made before. “In fact, the Chinese regime is even more corrupt compared to 20 years ago. They are corrupt collectively. This regime does not know how to examine itself for mistakes and to make corrections accordingly.”

He added, “The thing is, they make huge profit from the area they are in charge of by engaging in all sorts of illegal activities, including arson and murder.  However, those appellants who went to Beijing—over 100,000 of them based on a conservative estimate–the government simply turned a blind eye to them. How can you put up with a government that is so corrupt?”

The vigil concluded at around 10 p.m. with people singing songs and holding candles.

Read original article in Chinese