Date | June 2010 |
---|---|
Location | Hong Kong |
Participants | Pan-democracy camp |
Outcome | protest march, candlelight vigil |
The 21st anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre began as a small march to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in Hong Kong. Hong Kong and Macau are the only places on Chinese soil where the 1989 crushing of China's pro-democracy movement can be commemorated, and the annual event to commemorate has been taking place in Hong Kong since 1990.
In 2010, the candlelight vigil attracted more than 150,000 participants – the controversies surrounding Hong Kong authorities' treatment of the democracy goddess statues, including a controversial ban by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, were widely cited as having had a significant effect on the turnout.
As the People's Republic of China has publicly embraced the one country, two systems model of governance for Hong Kong, the annual 4 June observance which has become a tradition since 1989 has continued after the transfer of sovereignty from Britain to China. [1] It is the only place on Chinese soil where the event is openly commemorated in any way and on any scale. [2]
In Hong Kong, the anniversary was commemorated in the backdrop of the 2010 Hong Kong by-election, the impending LegCo vote on the reform proposals made as a result of Consultation Document on the Methods for Selecting the chief executive and for Forming the LegCo in 2012 , and the leak onto the internet of The Critical Moment – Li Peng Diaries , supposedly an insider's account of the top echelons of Chinese politics leading up to the fateful crackdown in 1989, written by the former Chinese Premier.
No discussion about or mention of the 1989 protests is tolerated in mainland China. Attempts to stage public events and protests commemorating the 21st anniversary in Beijing's Tiananmen Square have been largely thwarted by Chinese authorities, activists said. A planned commemoration on the campus of Beijing University failed owing to the presence of large numbers of state security police; "scuffles between police and bystanders" were reported outside the Great Hall of the People and numerous government departments, including the ruling party's Central Propaganda Department. Radio Free Asia reported that dissidents have been warned, put under house arrest, or incarcerated in the run-up to the anniversary. [3]
Sina.com microblog prevented any online vigils by removing icons of a candle and cake so users cannot create tweets with emoticons holding vigils. [4] However, under pretext of International Children's Day, Southern Metropolis Daily put up on 1 June a cartoon of a child drawing image hugely resembling the iconic Tank Man photograph by Jeff Widener on a blackboard which was later taken down, but not before it had circulated on the Internet. [2]
Elsewhere, a demonstration marking the 21st anniversary took place outside the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. [5] As Japanese police moved a crash barrier to allow a car to enter the embassy compound, exiled student leader of the 1989 movement, Wu'er Kaixi, tried to evade the police and enter the grounds of the embassy. He said his aim was to turn himself in to the Chinese government. Wuer said he was wrestled to the ground by "seven or eight" Japanese police officers about 5 metres from the embassy gates. [5] Upon his arrest, Wuer said that he was prepared to hand himself over to the Chinese authorities, so that he could go home to China – he had not seen his parents in 21 years. He was released two days later by Japanese police. [6]
On 30 May 2010 a pro-democracy camp march to the Central Government Offices by about 800 people started from Victoria Park. [7] Some protesters continued to the Times Square shopping mall. Thirteen activists remained to protect the two 'Goddess of Democracy' statues. A scuffle broke out, and the activists were arrested with the statues taken away by police. [8] Of the two statues, one was a 6.4-metre bronze, the other 2.2-metre made in white plastic material. [9]
On 2 June Chen Weiming, creator of the statues, arrived in Hong Kong but was immediately deported. Lawmaker James To questioned why he was deported for political reasons. [8] The next day pro-democrat Lee Cheuk-yan said "If the government will not release the statues immediately, what difference does its action have from the crushing of the first statue in Tiananmen Square by the Chinese army's tanks?" He threatened to gather people to surround the North Point police station. [10] Lee further said HK has reduced to a place with no room even for a goddess statue. [11] The statues were freed after the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China spend two hours negotiating with the police. [9]
Eric Lai Yan-ho (黎恩灝), president of the students' union at Chinese University, knowing that the Pillar of Shame sculpture by Jens Galschiot had gone to the University of Hong Kong campus, wanted the two statues of democracy to go to the Sha Tin campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. [12]
The Chinese University of Hong Kong also became embroiled in controversy when they denied a request by students to house the democracy goddess statue permanently on its campus. They said it should not align itself with the actions or activities which project a political position that compromises political neutrality. [12] Students complained that outgoing vice-chancellor Lawrence Lau, a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was 'too establishment'. [12] [13] Student leader Eric Lai told a crowd of 2,000 people that the university officials should apologise for their opposition of the art display. [14] Former LegCo president Rita Fan admitted there are some people in HK who just cannot forgive the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. [15] Later the statues were allowed on campus. The Alliance organised a transport truck and the delivery was escorted by police forces. The students themselves then raised it on campus. [16] Vice-Chancellor designate Joseph Sung (沈祖堯) agreed to share responsibility for the committee's decision. He said the school was immature in handling the situation and underestimated the political situation. He said the incident was the biggest political controversy the university faced in over 20 years. [17] [18]
Pan-democrats condemned the confiscation as suppression of free speech during a LegCo debate. [19] As in previous years, Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho tabled a motion calling for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre not to be forgotten and the 1989 pro-democracy movement be vindicated. The motion was backed by the 23 pan-democrats and independent Dr. Leung Ka-lau. But as in previous years, the private motion was defeated because it failed to secure a majority in the functional constituencies, despite their being only 15 votes against and 10 abstentions—the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions voted against the motion; the Liberals and Economic Synergy abstained. [19]
According to event organisers, about 150,000 people attended a candlelight vigil at Victoria Park on 4 June matching the previous year's 20th anniversary. The police said 113,000 people showed up. [20] This was a larger than expected amount as many people were angry about the confiscation of the statues. [20] A recorded message was played by Liu Xia, wife of Liu Xiaobo who drafted Charter 08 and was imprisoned by the PRC for 11 years. [20]
A gathering was also held at St. Dominic's church in Macau attended by about 700 people. [21]
We never believed a government we so trusted would turn its troops against the people
Tsang Yok-sing, The Financial Times , 5/6 June 2010
The Financial Times reported an unprecedented attack of the Chinese government by loyalist Tsang Yok-sing, the founder of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong in an interview before the vigil. Tsang was principal of the Pui Kiu Middle School at the time – he relived the shock, disbelief and emotion when the tanks rolled in and the Tiananmen democratic movement was crushed; staff and students were all shocked to learn of the government's brutality.
Public anger over the seizures, and fears of political repression, were widely cited as directly inciting a record 150,000 participants (or 113,000 according to the police) to attend the 6-4 vigil. Lee Cheuk-yan, vice-chairman of the Alliance, said "...the basic number who insist on attending the vigil every year has increased rapidly, and 60 to 70 per cent of participants are now young people aged below 30," who inform themselves by other than traditional means. [22] Ming Pao polled 336 people attending the candlelight vigil; 207 of them thought freedom to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre was at risk. Commentator Frank Ching said that there was an erosion of trust the widely publicised police seizure in Times Square and the controversy at the Chinese University contributed. He said it was important for government and university authorities to work hard to maintain the trust of its people. [23] Former legislator Albert Cheng said the main reason for the unexpectedly high turnout was more general public dissatisfaction with the government without a proper mandate, although the actions of the HK Police and Chinese University only added fuel to the fire. [24]
The Goddess of Democracy, also known as the Goddess of Democracy and Freedom, the Spirit of Democracy, and the Goddess of Liberty, was a 10-metre-tall (33 ft) statue created during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The statue was constructed over four days out of foam and papier-mâché over a metal armature and was unveiled and erected on Tiananmen Square on May 30, 1989. The constructors decided to make the statue as large as possible to try to dissuade the government from dismantling it: the government would either have to destroy the statue—an action which would potentially fuel further criticism of its policies—or leave it standing. Nevertheless, the statue was destroyed on June 4, 1989, by soldiers clearing the protesters from Tiananmen square. Since its destruction, numerous replicas and memorials have been erected around the world, including in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Vancouver.
Ma Lik, GBS, JP, was a Legislative Councillor, and was the Chairman of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), a pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was a pro-democracy organisation that was established on 21 May 1989 in the then British colony of Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in Beijing. After the 4 June massacre, the organisation main goals were the rehabilitation of the democracy movement and the accountability for the massacre. The main activities the organisation held were the annual memorials and commemorations, of which the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park was the most attended, reported and discussed event each year. Due to its stance, the Central government in Beijing considers the organisation subversive.
Pillar of Shame is a series of sculptures by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt memorialising the loss of life during specific events or caused by specific circumstances in history. Each sculpture is an eight metres (26 ft) tall statue of bronze, copper or concrete.
The 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre (20周年六四遊行) was a series of rallies that took place in late May to early June 2009 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, during which the Chinese government sent troops to suppress the pro-democracy movement. While the anniversary is remembered around the world; the event is heavily censored on Chinese soil, particularly in Mainland China. Events which mark it only take place in Hong Kong, and in Macao to a much lesser extent.
In the days following the end of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, several memorials and vigils were held around the world for those who were killed in the demonstrations. Since then, annual memorials have been held in places outside of Mainland China, most notably in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States.
Hong Kong's Goddess of Democracy is a 6.4-metre faux bronze statue sculpted by Chen Weiming, inspired by the original 10-metre tall Goddess of Democracy. The original foam and papier-mâché statue was erected by the Chinese pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square at the end of May 1989, and destroyed by soldiers clearing the protesters from Tiananmen square on June 4, 1989.
The 10th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre (10周年六四遊行) was a series of rallies – street marches, parades, and candlelight vigils – that took place in late May to early June 1999 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 4 June 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The anniversary of the event, during which the Chinese government sent troops to suppress pro-democracy movement and many people are thought to have perished, is remembered around the world in public open spaces and in front of many Chinese embassies in Western countries. On Chinese soil, any mention of the event is completely taboo in Mainland China; events which mark it only take place in Hong Kong, and in Macao to a much lesser extent.
The Hong Kong 818 incident was a case of alleged civil rights violations that occurred on 18 August 2011 at the University of Hong Kong during a visit by Li Keqiang, the then-Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China. His arrival at the school led to a lock-down and complete takeover of the school by the Hong Kong Police force. Controversy arose as a result of claims by the media and students that their rights had been violated.
Örkesh Dölet is a political commentator known for his leading role during the Tiananmen protests of 1989.
Li Wangyang was a Chinese dissident labor rights activist, member of the Workers Autonomous Federation and chairman of the Shaoyang WAF branch. Following his role in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he served twenty-one years in prison on charges of counterrevolutionary propaganda, incitement, and subversion. Of all Chinese pro-democracy activists from 1989, Li spent the longest time in prison. On 6 June 2012, one year after his release from prison, and a few days after a television interview in which he continued to call for vindication of the Tiananmen Square protests, Li was found hanged in a hospital room. Shaoyang city authorities initially claimed suicide was the cause of death, but it was revised to 'accidental death' after the autopsy.
The 24th anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 took place in China and internationally around 4 June 2013. The protests commemorated victims of the Chinese Communist Party crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Activities included the state of alert within mainland China, and the traditional marches and candlelight vigils that took place in Hong Kong and Macau on 4 June 2013 which have taken place every year prior to that since 1990. The two former colonies are the only places on Chinese soil where the 1989 crushing of China's pro-democracy movement can be commemorated.
A Tiananmen Journal: Republic on the Square by Feng Congde (封从德) was first published in May 2009 in Hong Kong. This book records the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre from April 15, 1989, to June 4, 1989, in detail. Author Feng Congde is one of the student leader in the protest and his day-by- day diary entries, record every activity during the protest including the start of student protests in Peking University, the activities of major student leaders, important events, and unexposed stories about student organizations and their complex decision making.
The June 4th Museum, organised by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, is a museum commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre that occurred in Beijing, China.
The Concert for Democracy in China (Chinese: 民主歌聲獻中華) was a benefit concert held in Hong Kong in support of the students involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The concert was held on May 27, 1989, at the Happy Valley Racecourse on Hong Kong Island. The event lasted for 12 hours and raised over HK$12,000,000 for the students in Beijing.
The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, commonly known in mainland China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations in Beijing in 1989. More broadly, it refers to the popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests during that period, sometimes called the '89 Democracy Movement. The protests were forcibly suppressed after Chinese Premier Li Peng declared martial law. In what became known in the West as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, troops with assault rifles and tanks fired at the demonstrators trying to block the military's advance towards Tiananmen Square. The number of civilian deaths was internally estimated by the Chinese government to be near or above 10,000.
Zhou Fengsuo is a Chinese human rights activist, investor, and former student leader during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. He was listed number 5 on the government's most wanted and forced into exile in the United States over his role in the student movement. Zhou attained his MBA degree from University of Chicago Booth School of Business and had been working in the finance industry in recent years. He is currently the president of Humanitarian China and Co-founder of the China Human Rights Accountability Center.
The 30th anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 was principally events that occurred in China and elsewhere on 4 June 2019 - to commemorate the Chinese Communist Party's crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in which hundreds of people were killed.
The 31st anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 was principally events that occurred in China and elsewhere on and leading up to 4 June 2020 – to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, in which thousands of people are widely believed to have been killed.
The 32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests featured events in China and elsewhere on, and leading up to, 4 June 2021 – to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, in which the government of China ordered the army to fire on protestors, killing hundreds, if not thousands, of people.