'June 4 Museum Poses Building Safety Risks'

Some 20 protesters demonstrated on Tuesday against the re-opening of the June 4 Museum in Mong Kok.

The protesters said they were members of the public speaking out for the tenants and owners at Ngai Wong Commercial Building on Mong Kok Road.

They warned that crowds of visitors to the museum commemorating the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Beijing would increase the risk of fire and could even cause the building to collapse.

They also accused the museum operator – the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China – of profiting from the dead.

It was the second protest in just a few days, ahead of the museum's scheduled opening later in the week.

The museum was kicked out of its original space in Tsim Sha Tsui by the building's owners corporation, and has had been housed at temporary locations since then.

The alliance’s chairman, Albert Ho, said he believes the protest was politically-motivated, and stressed the alliance will comply with all safety requirements in the building.

“There had been gatherings frequently held in the building, where members and churchgoers attend regularly. There has never been such complaints that it would cause fire hazards or other hazards. Of course on our site, we have to ensure that if there is many people who wish to visit to the museum … that we have plans to make sure the number of people admitted to the premises will be numbered”, Ho said.