By Chris Yeung
On its face, Beijing should feel happy with the drop of the turnout of the June 4 candle-light vigil at the Victoria Park on Saturday. Both figures given by the organisers and the police show fewer people attended the anniversary rally in commemorating the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, compared with the figures in the past six years.
There is no denying the row between the Hong Kong Federation of Students and 12 university student unions and the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, the vigil organiser, over the rally is an important factor for the lower turnout.
Seen from a deeper and broader perspective, the row reflects the growth of localism among young people in the city. Ask whether they hope the official verdict of the June 4 crackdown should be reversed, many of them may say yes. But they don’t think Hongkongers have a role in fighting for the building up of a democratic China, which is one of the four political demands of the Alliance.
Full article:
Beijing has nothing to celebrate for a lower June 4 vigil turnout
