HONG KONG // Hong Kong marked the 23rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre yesterday with impassioned calls to never forget the students who sacrificed their lives for democratic reform.
The former British colony is the only place in China where the brutal military intervention that ended weeks of nationwide democracy protests in 1989 is openly commemorated.
More than 150,000 people attended a candlelight vigil at the city's Victoria Park yesterday, an annual act of remembrance for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people killed in the June 3-4 onslaught.
For three days ahead of the vigil, students staged a re-enactment of the hunger strike that student leaders launched in Beijing's Tiananmen Square 23 years ago as they demanded a dialogue with leaders.
The anniversary is a "very symbolic event for the future of Hong Kong's social development", said Cheston Cheung, 28, a social worker.
"It represents the things that we believe in and we want to remind the Hong Kong people about this."
A Chinese Communist Party verdict after the Tiananmen protests branded the movement a "counter-revolutionary rebellion", and the events have been expunged from Chinese official history.
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
The biog
Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito
Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa
Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".
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Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
