Remembering Tiananmen Square

People will flock to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on June 4 to burn candles in honor of those who died in the Tiananmen Square Massacre twenty years ago. Cautious expectations that China was on the verge of some democratic change in 1989 were shattered by early morning gunfire as the Chinese government rolled its tanks into the students, workers, journalists, government officials and people from all walks of life who were calling for reform and an end to corruption.

Thousands gathered in the rain on the evening of June 3 as news filtered into Hong Kong that there was trouble in Tiananmen. On June 4, the extent of the horror was broadcast around the globe. On each succeeding anniversary, the memories of those who died have been honored at a candlelight vigil organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movements of China.

Today, the true death toll of Tiananmen is still unknown. People involved in the pro-democracy movement are still in exile while others are in prison. Families of the victims are still denied the opportunity to mourn their dead, and a group gathered under the collective, Tiananmen Mothers, is harassed and kept under surveillance.

With its current political clout, China can buy the silence of foreign governments and societies.
China adopted economic reform in 1978, but without political reform to safeguard the rule of law, only those in power benefited from it. As long as the economy is used as justification for human rights abuses, candles will continue to burn for the victims, not only in Victoria Park, but in the hearts of millions worldwide.

Columban Fr. Jim Mulroney who is living and working in Hong Kong provided this update.