Emily Lau: On the nineteenth anniversary of the Beijing massacre
[Emily Lau is a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council (Legco), representing The Frontier political group.]
Today, 4 June 2008, is a fateful anniversary. Nineteen years ago, the authorities in Beijing ordered a bloody crackdown of the peaceful protestors on Tiananmen Square and in other parts of the Chinese capital. The People's Liberation Army turned their guns and tanks on the students and Beijing residents who were demonstrating against corruption, nepotism and suppression of basic human rights.
It is not known how many people perished. Beijing should conduct an independent inquiry and present its findings to the country. This should include recommendations for rehabilitation and compensation for the victims and their families. On behalf of the government, the leaders in Beijing should make a formal apology to those victims. Only then can the healing of the nation begin.
In what was then the British colony of Hong Kong, over a million people took part in huge demonstrations to lend their support to the peaceful demonstrations on Tiananmen Square. The feeling of grief, anger and frustration rocked Hong Kong to its foundation. Each year since then on the evening of 4 June, thousands of people have gathered at Victoria Park to attend a candlelight vigil: both to remember the dead, and to show support for a democratic and free China...
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Today, 4 June 2008, is a fateful anniversary. Nineteen years ago, the authorities in Beijing ordered a bloody crackdown of the peaceful protestors on Tiananmen Square and in other parts of the Chinese capital. The People's Liberation Army turned their guns and tanks on the students and Beijing residents who were demonstrating against corruption, nepotism and suppression of basic human rights.
It is not known how many people perished. Beijing should conduct an independent inquiry and present its findings to the country. This should include recommendations for rehabilitation and compensation for the victims and their families. On behalf of the government, the leaders in Beijing should make a formal apology to those victims. Only then can the healing of the nation begin.
In what was then the British colony of Hong Kong, over a million people took part in huge demonstrations to lend their support to the peaceful demonstrations on Tiananmen Square. The feeling of grief, anger and frustration rocked Hong Kong to its foundation. Each year since then on the evening of 4 June, thousands of people have gathered at Victoria Park to attend a candlelight vigil: both to remember the dead, and to show support for a democratic and free China...