- Title: Thousands mark Tiananmen anniversary in Hong Kong candlelight vigil
- Date: 4th June 2017
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) STUDENT GRADUATE, KA HO, SAYING: "June 4 Tiananmen crackdown plays a huge part in Hong Kong's history. Since 1989, it has affected everyone including migrants escaping mainland or people resisting against the communist party, everything that we are doing is related to June 4."
- Embargoed: 18th June 2017 16:52
- Keywords: Beijing Hong Kong vigil commemoration crackdown Tiananmen
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: Hong Kong
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA0096JV4MYV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands attended a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong on Sunday (June 4) to commemorate the victims of the 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.
Organisers estimated around 110,000 people attended the main candlelight vigil in Victoria Park, while the police estimated attendance at 18,000.
Nearly three decades after Beijing sent tanks and troops to quell the 1989 pro-democracy, student-led protests, Chinese authorities ban any public commemoration of the subject on the mainland and have yet to release an official death toll.
This year's events are especially politically charged, coming just a month before an expected visit of President Xi Jinping to mark 20 years since Hong Kong was handed back to China.
Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is one of the very few places on the Chinese soil where June 4 commemorations are tolerated. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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