As every year they gathered in Victoria park, tens of thousands, in memory of those who died in 1989. Fresh criticisms of Ma Lik, the pro-China deputy who defined Tiananmen a san invention, and condemnation of Beijing’s delays of Hong Kong’s political reforms.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Over 55 thousand people gathered last night to remember the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre. The organisers, the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, underscored that the number represents a hike in support over the last two years.

 

United in their resentment of Ma Lik, the pro-China deputy who defined the slaughter a san “invention”, the demonstrators held a silent vigil through the night light by thousands of candles.  

 

Opening the ceremony the names and photographs of Deng Xiaoping’s repressive strike were processed across a stage in Victoria Park, followed by speeches from the organisers.  Alliance chairman Szeto Wah told the crowd: "Ma Lik and the like who have insulted the Tiananmen victims will definitely go down in history like rubbish”. Under the candle light he added, “We see the bloody scene and the dead bodies in Tiananmen Square 18 years ago. Let us raise our candles high and condemn these whitewashing remarks. They distort historical truth and go against one's conscience”.  Wah also criticised Beijing for telling what it called "deceptive lies" about democratising elections and policy formulation on the mainland: “Mainland authorities have avoided political reform. In Hong Kong universal suffrage is facing hurdles and delay. We strongly demand the return of power to the people”.

 

In a recorded message, 80-year-old Li Xuewan, whose son Yuan Li was killed in the crackdown said “it is a relief Hong Kong has continued to hold the vigil for 18 years”.

 

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