Marches In Hong Kong Ahead Of Tiananmen Massacre Anniversary

HONG KONG - Hundreds marched through downtown Hong Kong on Sunday to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of China's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989. It was one of the few public commemorations on Chinese soil.

The protesters, many wearing black or white T-shirts for mourning, chanted, "The people will not forget" and "Reverse the verdict on June 4th" — a reference to the day of the deadly crackdown.

Tens of thousands are expected to attend a candlelit vigil Thursday for the victims.

The 1989 student protests are still considered a "counterrevolutionary" riot by the government in China and remain taboo, but they are openly remembered in Hong Kong because it is ruled by Beijing under a separate political system that promises freedom of speech.

Police said the march from a downtown Hong Kong park was attended by at least 4,700 people on Sunday. Tens of thousands more are expected to attend a candlelit vigil on Thursday.

The protesters, who were mainly wearing black and white to symbolize mourning, shouted anti-Beijing slogans and carried banners calling on the Chinese Communist Party to readdress the events of June 4, 1989.