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Honoring Tiananmen Square 20th Anniversary
(I'm feeling humbled)
Let's hope that we in North America don't find ourselves in this position in the near future.
thosuands hold candle vigil in Hong Kong
Article By Associated Press Writers Christopher Bodeen And Jeremiah Marquez, Associated Press Writers – Thu Jun 4, 4:55 pm ET
BEIJING – In Tiananmen Square, police were ready to pounce at the first sign of protest. In Hong Kong, a sea of candles flickered in the hands of tens of thousands who vented their grief and anger.
Two starkly contrasting faces of China were on display Thursday, the 20th anniversary of the military's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators — from Beijing's rigid control in suppressing any dissent, to freewheeling Hong Kong, which enjoys freedoms all but absent on the mainland.
Tiananmen Square was blanketed by uniformed and plainclothes security officers who were ready to silence any potential demonstration, and there were few hints that the vast plaza was the epicenter of a student-led movement that was crushed on June 3-4, 1989, shocking the world.
Police barred foreign journalists from entering the square and threatened them with violence, even barring them from covering the daily raising of China's national flag.
Chinese and foreign tourists were allowed in Tiananmen as usual, although security officials appeared to outnumber visitors.
Dissidents and families of victims were confined to their homes or forced to leave Beijing, part of sweeping government efforts to prevent online debate or organized commemorations of the anniversary.
But in Hong Kong's Victoria Park, a crowd chanted slogans calling for Beijing to own up to the crackdown and release political dissidents. Organizers estimated its size at 150,000, while police put the number at 62,800.
"It is the dream of all Chinese people to have democracy!" the throng sang.
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