Parade in Hong Kong Commemorates 1989 Tiananmen Square Democratic Movement

Parade in Hong Kong Commemorates 1989 Tiananmen Square Democratic Movement
A Hong Kong University student cleans a plaque below the "The Pillar of Shame" - a monument constructed to honour the dead and shame the Chinese government that refused to apologise for the Tiananmen Square massacre - the killing of students on 04 June 1989 in Beijing's Tianamen Square, 04 May 2005. (Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty Images)
6/1/2005
Updated:
8/23/2015

This year marks the 16th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. On May 29, the Hong Kong Alliance organized an annual “Patriotic Pro-democracy March.” The theme of this year’s parade is “Learn From History, Rehabilitate the Pro-democracy Movement in Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989.” This theme is to remind everyone of past mistakes and to ensure China is on the right course for developing into a free and democratic nation. A country can only progress when it is governed by law and defends human rights.

A statement made by the Hong Kong Alliance said, “In recent years, the slogan ‘Bring an End to One Party Dictatorship’ met with attack. Why is this the case? What is so honorable about dictatorship? How many innocent lives were lost to the machine guns and tanks of the Chinese Communist Party?”

One thousand four hundred people from all walks of life attended this year’s parade. People of all ages came out—Chinese, Westerners and parents with their young children. Twenty-year-old Mai Zhilie said he was only four when the Tiananmen Square incident took place. He first learned of this incident in his freshman year of high school when his teacher showed the class short video clips. At that time, he still wasn’t sure what had happened but quickly developed an interest by observing his teacher’s passion about the incident. After finishing an open exam in the fifth year of high school, he began to do research on the pro-democracy movement of 1989. In addition to that, many useful discussions with his high school teachers helped him obtain a thorough understanding of the subject.

Epoch Times also participated in the parade and received warm applause from the audience.