Angered by China's hard line against democracy in Hong Kong, an estimated 60,000 people waved candles, sang and chanted yesterday night to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.
"Hong Kong should be democratic," university student Rocker Tsui said at an annual vigil that was highly charged by the recent bitter dispute over the territory's political future. "Hong Kong people should be ruling Hong Kong ourselves."
"The people's republic should be for the people, not for killing the people," said a woman who identified herself only by the surname Pau at yesterday night's rally in a sprawling downtown park. A monument was set up that said: "Democracy's heroes stand forever."
Hong Kong people have grown increasingly frustrated and unhappy with Beijing.
"I wish we had a choice," said teacher Pat Sy. "Democracy is good for people. It's more important than the economy."
The Tiananmen Square vigil attracted numerous ordinary citizens, elderly people and young couples who brought small children so they could teach them about China's crackdown.
People waved banners yesterday night demanding that China reverse its official explanation of Tiananmen Square by admitting mistakes.
"This year it's important for people to show they will not be silenced," said Law Yuk-kai, director of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, a non-governmental organization.
The Hong Kong event was the only commemoration of the Tiananmen events on Chinese soil.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
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