Hong Kong remembers Tiananmen victims: 180,000 people expected in Victoria Park

The Alliance secretary for the support of China's democratic patriotic movements: "We expect the turnout to reach the highest historical levels".  Preventing entry into the Territory to the former leaders of the pro-democracy protests of 1989. Hundreds of petitions are promoting the June 9 march against the proposed law on extradition of refugees from mainland China.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Hong Kong is preparing for a memorable commemoration of June 4, with at least 180 thousand people awaiting the vigil tonight: local students are invited to return to the rallies, while the renewed museum on the Tiananmen movement (photo) is inundated with visitors.  The organizers of the annual Victoria Park march expect a large turnout for two reasons: the first is that today is the 30th anniversary of the massacre;  the second is the current controversy over a bill that would allow Hong Kong to extradite refugees from mainland China to Beijing.  Controversy also for the authorities' decision to prevent entry into the Territory and participation in the vigil of Feng Congde, 53-year-old former leader of the pro-democracy protests of 1989.

Hong Kong is the only place in the entire Chinese territory where activists recall in large scale the events of June 1989, when Chinese tanks marched on the crowd demanding democracy.  In the rest of the country, the Tiananmen Square facts are subjected to iron censorship.  "We expect the turnout to reach our highest historical levels," says Lee Cheuk-yan, secretary for the Alliance for supporting China's democratic patriotic movements.  The group has been organizing the Hong Kong vigil since 1990. According to the Alliance, the greatest participation was seen in 2012 and 2014, when at least 180,000 people gathered to commemorate the victims of Tiananmen and demand democracy in mainland China.  Meanwhile, hundreds of petitions circulating online - launched mainly by former secondary school and university students - invite Hong Kong residents to join the June 9th march, organized against the government's extradition bill.