‘Noble’ Tiananmen protesters echoed Hong Kong’s struggle for democracy: America’s top diplomat
America will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who pursue human rights in mainland China, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the eve of the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
“The Tiananmen demonstrations are echoed in the struggle for democracy and freedom in Hong Kong, where a planned vigil to commemorate the massacre in Tiananmen Square was banned by local authorities,” Blinken said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Blinken described the Tiananmen Square crackdown as “brutal actions by the Government of the People’s Republic of China” that attempted to “silence tens of thousands of individuals advocating to have a say in their government and exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
“These individuals had a noble and simple request: Recognize and respect our human rights, which are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he said. “We must never stop seeking transparency on the events of that day, including a full accounting of all those killed, detained, or missing.”
Meanwhile, several consulates general in Hong Kong lit candles in their office windows and posted online pictures of candlelight to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of Tiananmen, while overseas Hongkongers assembled to mourn for the event in the face of Hong Kong police’s prohibition of the once-yearly memorial in the city.
The representative offices of the European Union and the United States in Hong Kong lit candles in their windows.
The Australian consulate general uploaded an image of candlelight on Friday, saying it would commemorate the incident with communities around the world and pledged to support human rights and freedoms.
The British consulate general also posted a picture of candlelight on Friday, but carried no explanation.
In a rally in Adelaide, Australia, scores assembled outside the Chinese embassy. The rally organizer, self-exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui, said it was greatly significant that such commemorations could continue overseas because of the ban on a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong.
One group in Japan held a protest in Tokyo with dozens of participants. Meanwhile, more than a dozen cities in Germany and Britain saw similar rallies to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the crackdown.
In North America, protests were mainly held in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and Montreal, with participants saying that it was necessary for overseas Hongkongers to stand up. What happened on June 4, 1989, will not be erased, one participant said.
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