Hong Kong Cardinal: 'we cannot forget the martyrs of Tiananmen Square'

Cardinal Zen

Many thousands joined a candlelight vigil on Thursday evening to commemorate the crushing of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. This annual vigil has taken on greater meaning in the wake of last autumn's pro-democracy demonstrations against Beijing. The victims of the Tiananmen massacre are "our martyrs" and we cannot "forget" them, said Cardinal Joseph Zen.

The Cardinal said: "Some Catholics say that it is time to forget, that it is useless to dwell on the past. But those young people who sacrificed their lives for the freedom did it for us. This is why we can never forget".

The bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, told AsiaNews before the vigil, that in the days before the anniversary, Masses for the dead were celebrated in many churches in the area, for the "martyrs" killed in Tiananmen Square. He added that before the vigil, Catholics and Protestants were to join in a prayer meeting, which merged with the largest gathering of Victoria Park. Mgr Joseph Ha, auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong, head of Justice and Peace, led the prayers.

Cardinal Zen has often said that the fate of democracy in Hong Kong is linked to that of China. The territory is the only place in China where the events of Tiananmen are commemorated. Over the years, many from China have come to Hong Kong in order to take part in the demonstrations in memory of those killed. Many dissidents and Tiananmen Mothers (the association of relatives of those killed) are grateful for the vigil and all the activities that commemorate the movement of students and workers helplessly mowed down by the army and tanks.

Vigil leaders laid a wreath at a makeshift memorial in the middle of the crowd as the names of Tiananmen victims were read out. Everyone, including the crowd, then bowed three times. The leaders then led the crowd in observing a minute of silence.

Hong Kong became a part of China in 1997 after a century and a half as a British colony but maintains freedom of speech and other civil liberties not seen on the mainland.