Hundreds in Hong Kong protest to mark Tiananmen

Hundreds marched through downtown Hong Kong on Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary of China’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. It was one of the few public commemorations on Chinese soil.

Hundreds marched through downtown Hong Kong on Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary of China’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. It was one of the few public commemorations on Chinese soil.

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The protesters chanted, “The people will not forget” and “Reverse the verdict on June 4th” a reference to the date of the deadly crackdown.

The 1989 student protests are still considered a “counterrevolutionary” riot in China and remain a taboo topic on the mainland, but they are openly remembered in Hong Kong because it’s ruled by Beijing under a separate political system that promises freedom of speech.

The crackdown aggravated fears in Hong Kong about authoritarian Chinese rule just years before the then-British colony was handed back to Beijing.