Hong Kong - Six out of 10 Hong Kong citizens want Beijing to
reverse its official verdict over the Tiananmen Square crackdown,
according to a survey released Thursday, one week ahead of the 20th
anniversary of events of June 4, 1989.
The figure is 12 per cent higher than a similar survey by the
University of Hong Kong's Public Opinion Programme last year, and the
highest since the first such poll in 1994.
The survey, which questioned 1,000 people in Hong Kong last week,
also found that 69 per cent believe Beijing 'did the wrong thing' in
dealing with the student-led protest which was branded by the
communist government as a counter-revolutionary plot.
Seventy-eight per cent of those questioned believed people in Hong
Kong had a responsibility to help bring about democracy in mainland
China.
Robert Chung, director of the public opinion programme, said:
'Although Hong Kong people generally recognize China's achievement in
its economic development, more and more would like to see China
develop its democracy at the same time.'
Experts believe the growing sympathy in Hong Kong for the
Tiananmen Square movement has been fuelled by the publication of the
memoirs of former Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang and by
controversial comments made by Chief Executive Donald Tsang earlier
this month.
Tsang sparked outrage when in a question-and-answer session with
legislators, he said 'time has passed' and China had made great
economic strides since the Tiananmen Square crackdown, adding: 'My
view represents the overall view of the community.'
Tsang's remarks led to chaotic scenes as pro-democracy legislators
staged a mass walkout in the chamber. He later issued an apology,
saying he was wrong to imply that he spoke for the whole of Hong Kong.
Organizers of an annual candlelight vigil to remember the 1989
massacre are hoping the sentiments echoed in the survey indicate a
record turn-out for the event next Thursday.
Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 after 156 years as a
British colony under a 'one country, two systems' arrangement that
guarantees freedom of speech and expression for its 7 million
citizens.
This means the Hong Kong vigil is the only place on Chinese soil
where the killings are publicly commemorated.
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