In case the date is not familiar, June 4 is the anniversary (this year the 15th) of the day of the crackdown in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, in the course of which certainly hundreds and probably over 1000 demonstrators were killed by the Chinese army. At the time, a million people came out into the streets of Hong Kong to support the demonstrations that were taking place throughout China. And each year since, there's been a candlelight vigil in Victoria Park -- to remember the dead, to demand an official reappraisal of the event by the Chinese government, to call for democracy, and to sing.
This year the vigil drew 82 000 people, according to organisers (and it is their number that will become official; Hong Kong police refuse to give estimates). That's the largest it's been since I've been going -- last year was 45 000. It was easy to tell the difference when we arrived at the park. We were as late as last year, so again we had to sit at the back, but this year the back was a lot further back. We were among the last ones there who weren't overflow.
The numbers and the mass of people matter. Last July 1 (the anniversary of the handover) saw the biggest demonstration in Hong Kong since June 1989, 500 000 people mad at the government (that's about 15% of Hong Kong's population). Since then, nothing has been resolved. Elections to local advisory councils in November were a slap in the face of pro-China parties. This spring, Beijing took it upon itself to "interpret" the Basic Law of Hong Kong (effectively the constitution that was negotiated between China and the U.K. before the handover), and the local, appointed leadership toadied along. The result was, unsurprisingly, no further democratisation in Hong Kong till at least 2012. Three popular radio hosts have resigned in recently because their pro-democracy politics were attracting unwanted (and possibly potentially violent) attention; Chinese officials have been in fits trying to explain that no pressure was put on the radio hosts. And just in this last week, the newish Chinese leadership announced that there was no chance of re-opening the verdict on the Tiananmen crackdown, that in the end it had been good for Chinese stability and the Chinese economy.
We'll see. There is another demonstration planned for July 1 this year. I expect it will be huge.
Unfortunately, I've been unable to locate a good aerial photograph of tonight's vigil. I am sure that when they are available they will be fantastic. Actually, if you find one and look really hard you might be able to see me in the back, wearing a yellow t-shirt and looking cranky. I am afraid I'm not one for such events -- I mostly go in order to be counted -- but the sight of tens of thousands of candles is very impressive.
As for links, I'm sure many are available, but the NY Times story (here) has some good background. This paragraph brought up some memories for me:
No organized protest was apparent in China's capital, although at least 16 people were arrested in twos and threes in the square through the day, apparently for making small acts of remembrance.
Six years ago, I think it was, I visited Beijing for the first time, arriving late in the evening of June 4. Of course we immediately made for Tiananmen Square. There, soldiers were clearing people from the square, telling them it closed at 10pm. The wonderful woman who'd met us at the train station turned on them and demanded: "Does the square always close at this time?" (Of course it didn't.) "Or is there something special about tonight?" I have to confess, I don't know that I have it in me to confront a Mountie back home like that.
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In Chinese, you refer the the Tiananmen crackdown by saying "6-4" (for June 4). This is a common pattern; 5-4 (the May Fourth Movement) and 2-28 (the February 28 Incident) are a couple of other big ones. (Now the U.S. has 9-11, of course.) As it happens, my favourite bar in all the world is named 64, and June 4 is the only day of the year when it closes (regulars are welcome for an open bar and jam session after the vigil, though). One of the saddest nights I've had recently was when I learned that 64 will be closing in the fall. Damn.