Chinese media say Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil for quake victims

krispietreats

http://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12423&Itemid=29

Chinese state media covered the annual Hong Kong vigil to mark the Tiananmen Square massacre for the first time, but said the event was to mourn victims of the Sichuan earthquake, a report said yesterday.

State broadcaster CCTV made a short report on its website about the annual candlelit vigil, which saw thousands of people gather in Hong Kong to remember the victims of the June 4, 1989 crackdown in Beijing, the South China Morning Post said.

But the report, entitled "40,000 Hong Kong residents attending vigil to mourn killed compatriots in the earthquake", made no mention of the primary reason for the vigil.

"The vigil lasted for about two hours. It included recitals, singing, a moment of silence and laying a wreath to martyrs," the Internet report said without explaining who the "martyrs" were, according to the Post.

"The vigil expressed the Hong Kong's public's mourning for their compatriots," it said
It was the first time a mainland media organisation had reported on the event, which police said saw more than 15,000 gather in Hong Kong's Victoria Park, the only such commemoration on Chinese soil.

Although organisers did tie the event to last month's devastating earthquake which has left nearly 90,000 dead or missing, holding a minute's silence for the victims, it was far from the main purpose.

China has in recent months vilified western media for their coverage of the country, accusing them of bias and manipulation in particular in their treatment of deadly riots that broke out in Tibet earlier this year.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed in Beijing by troops sent in to end weeks of peaceful protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

China has never formally apologised for the incident and has said the military action was necessary to prevent a counter-revolutionary uprising. The bloody crackdown continues to be a taboo subject in the country.

flamingmonkey

Shocking!!!  But then, it could have been mourning for both...

xyliang

Original posted by krispietreats at 17-6-2008 06:44
http://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12423&Itemid=29

Chinese state media covered the annual Hong Kong vigil to mark the Tiananmen Square massacre for the fir ...

As I was right here in Hong Kong and have first hand knowledge. There are two counts of misrepresentation in this thread.

1. The March for the Memorial of 4th June incident took place on Sunday 1st June. It was purposely proclaimed to remember both the deaths in Tienanmen incident and the decesed victims in the Sichuan earthquake to attract more participants. The number of people turned up is only 500 and the Apple Daily, mouth piece of the "Pan Democrat" report it as 1000, not 50,000 as reported above.
2. What the above reporting, is a candle light memorial evening that was organized by the same groups at the Victoria Park on the evening of 4th June. It was advertised as an activity for comdolences for ,both the victims of Tiananmen incident and of the Sichuan quake,  for the reason mentioned give above because they know, if they do not package it this way the scene will be disastrous. The actual participent according to official counts of the Police Department was 10,000, and as usual the mouth propaganda machin of the "Pan Democrat" blew it up to 50,000, taking advantage of darkness of the night. See how those media in Macau (not Hong Kong) can twist the fact to smear China!
Macau Daily Times? Never heard of this small paper before. May be another subsidary of CNN!

[ Last edited by xyliang at 17-6-2008 12:00 ]

Ronald

It can be difficult to guess the amount of people in a march but you would expect somebody from Macau to guess a number closer to the real number. It is a shame to live in the gambling capital of China and be so far off when guessing a number.