Hundreds Join March To Mark June 4 Crackdown

Organisers say 1,100 people took part in a march from Wanchai to the Beijing Liaison Office in Western on Sunday to commemorate the June 4 Tiananmen Square massacre 29 years ago.

The protesters urged the Central Government to reverse the official verdict on the student movement, leading up to the massacre in the capital in 1989.

They also called for an end to one-party rule across the border, even though at least one pro-Beijing figure in Hong Kong has suggested that this may be against the law.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organises the annual march, says they will not shy away from chanting the controversial slogan.

"It shows that we have the courage to continue to speak truth to power," said Albert Ho, chairman of the Alliance.

"If we lose that courage, what is the point of coming out to march? So I think that (the) most important point is that we continue to speak without fear, without inhibition and speak out the truth and Hong Kong is the place where we are lucky enough to enjoy the freedom to speak the truth we believe in."

One of the demonstrators, Brian Kern, said he’s been attending the annual march for 10 years. He says their demands are just as relevant today as they were back then.

"The Communist party is still in power. It’s still a dictatorship. The people who killed all those people on June fourth 29 years ago are still in power and Hong Kong people are now fighting for the very same things today," Kern said.