Saturday, June 04, 2005

Tiananmen Square - 16th Anniversary...

Commemorations in Hong Kong, tight security in Peking:
Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents were set to hold a candlelight vigil Saturday to mark the 16th anniversary of China's bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations.
In Beijing, security was tight and there were no signs of public commemorations on the giant square, where 1989 student-led protests that ended when soldiers and tanks attacked, killing hundreds of people.
China's Communist Party has eased many of the social controls that spurred the student-led Tiananmen protests, but still crushes protests against the event _ or any activity that it worries might threaten its monopoly on power.
But in a handful of other cities, some tried to keep the memory of the brutal crackdown alive.
A senior Chinese diplomat who abandoned his post and is seeking political asylum in Australia came out of hiding on Saturday to speak at a Sydney rally to observe the anniversary.
I, for one, find it incredible that 16 years have past since we first saw this:

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