TAIWAN: Evening vigil in Taipei marks 22nd anniversary of Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing

Record ID: 1539966

  • Title: TAIWAN: Evening vigil in Taipei marks 22nd anniversary of Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing
  • Date: 5th June 2011
  • Summary: PEOPLE GATHERING AT LIBERTY SQUARE VARIOUS OF CONCERT ON STAGE VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE WATCHING THE PERFORMANCE
  • Embargoed: 19th June 2011 21:30
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Taiwan, Province of China
  • Country: Taiwan, Province of China
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAAF6ZG72QFTF188H3XJOODU8RI
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Hundreds gathered in Taiwan's capital on Saturday (June 4) for a candle-lit vigil to mark the 22nd anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations around Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
    The crowd of supporters, mostly young students, held candles and observed a minute of silence for the Tiananmen students who lost their lives when tanks rolled into the Beijing square early on June 4 1989.
    Booklets were handed out at the vigil, explaining the events of that day, and a band sang on stage, performing a song called "The Scar of the History", which was written in 1989.
    The president of Taiwan, the island China claims as its own, said in a statement that Beijing should follow Taipei's example and reform politically.
    But Tiananmen student leader, Wang Dan, now a professor at Taiwan's Tsing Hua University, urged President Ma Ying-jeou to take on a more active role.
    "President Ma's statement was better than the previous two years, but I think Taiwan has the undeniable duty to promote China's democratic movement. If there are only words without action, then I don't think it will be much use. I hope the issue of democracy can be added to the agenda on the platform of the cross-strait talks," Wang said.
    Wang Chaohua, another Tiananmen student leader who currently conducts research in Taiwan, said that China's political system showed no signs of change.
    "After so many years, the Chinese government now uses the measure of harsh suppression on individuals to warn anyone who wants to express political opinions, even when sometimes ordinary people are just appealing about their house being torn down or their land being taken away. If the government thinks there is a political intention then everyone becomes afraid," said Wang.
    The 1989 protests that clogged Beijing's Tiananmen Square and spread to other cities, remain a taboo topic for the ruling Communist Party, all the more so this year following online calls for an Arab-style "Jasmine revolution" in China.
    The events of more than two decades ago continue to affect international perceptions of China, now the world's number two economy and increasingly active on the international stage.
    Students in Taiwan, like 23-year-old Ke Yan-shih who majors in International Business, says that Taiwan should set an example for China.
    "With frequent cross-strait exchanges, more and more Chinese tourists and students are coming to Taiwan. We should demonstrate our democratic power to show them that democracy is possible. It is not like the situation in China where there is a lot of suppression and censorship. We should become the model democracy in the Chinese world," he said.
    Nineteen-year-old Chen Yu-ting, said she was hopeful that the grassroots would one day bring change to China.
    "A lot of Chinese students and the grassroots class are not ignorant about human rights, but there is a gap between their views and the government's view. So I think it is just a matter of time. Eventually the people in the grassroots class will come up with power to counter-balance the government," she said.
    Tiananmen memorials are hosted every year in Taiwan, and tens of thousands also flocked to a downtown park in Hong Kong for a candle-lit vigil.
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