by Ishaan Tharoor
Even as it prepares for the most anticipated Olympics of all time, the Chinese state still refuses to review or atone for its actions at Tiananmen Square on 4 June, 1989. Yesterday, the residents of Hong Kong—that "barren rock" in the South China Sea—once more protested the Asian giant's silence. An estimated 55,000 people (an increase of nearly 20,000 from the year before) massed in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park in a candlelight vigil commemorating those “counter-revolutionary” student demonstrators slain by Chinese soldiers 18 years ago.
Back then, 1 million Hongkongers hit the streets in support of their Beijing brethren. In a city where money is God and glitzy materialism often trumps meaningful politics, doddering senior citizens, dreadlocked youth and dowdy middle-aged couples all gathered in protest and remembrance. Pro-democracy activists solemnly read aloud the victims’ names, conducted a Buddhist prayer ceremony while thousands bowed their heads and fiercely denounced the pro-Beijing cronies in Hong Kong’s midst as a sea of fists punched the air.
This year also marks ten years since Hong Kong “returned” to China after more than a century of British colonial administration. The vigil’s organizers used this candlelit stage to illuminate the larger struggle ahead: they urged all of Hong Kong to rally for democracy and universal suffrage on 1 July, the anniversary of the handover.
(photos courtesy Ben Siegel)
Ishaan Tharoor is a staff reporter for Time Magazine in Hong Kong. Ben Siegel is an editorial intern at Time.
