Around 20 demonstrators gathered near the Hong Kong Exhibition and
Convention Centre in Wanchai, Hong Kong, where an official national day
celebration function was held, to commemorates the June 4th massacre.
The demonstration was held peacefully and dispersed after the
demonstrators paid their tributes to the victims of the massacre.
The demonstration was organized by April 5th Action Group, Never
Forget June 4th, and the Liberal Democratic Party of China. Unlike the
past demonstrations, this time the demonstrators did not carry a coffin with
the words "Butcher Regime Stinks for a Thousand Years", a symbol of the
Beijing Communist government. In the nineth anniversary of the Tienanmen
Incident this year, Protesters clashed with the police when they tried to get
through the police cordon with the coffin. In the demonstration on October
1, the Protesters carried a wreath symbolizing their tributes to the victims of
the massacre instead.
Spokesman of the demonstration, Leung Kwok Hung, said the arrangement
this time is better than the past, because they are allowed to hold a
demonstration close to the Centre. The demonstration was held from 4:00
p.m. to 5.00 p.m., just when the Chief Executive C. H. Tung and other
senior SAR government officials and guests were celebrating the national
day in the Centre. Unlike the past, this time the guests will be able to see
the protest.
It is believed the reason why the demonstrators is allowed to hold the
demonstration near the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre is
that no Beijing leaders joined the celebration in Hong Kong this time. The
SAR government feared that the demonstration would embarrass the
Beijing leaders and therefore forbade the demonstrators to get close to
them. Demonstrators complained that their right to demonstrate was
oppressed. Analysts believe the present arrangement does not imply the
SAR government will relax the control on demonstration. They think the
same tight control will be imposed as long as Beijing leaders are in Hong
Kong.
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