Remembering Tiananmen Divides Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Camp
- Tens of thousands expected at world’s biggest commemoration
- Some post-Tiananmen youth say reforming China not their fight
People take part in a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong on June 4, 2015, to mark the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989. Photographer: Dale de la Rey/AFP via Getty Images
Hong Kong is preparing for the world’s biggest commemoration of the killing of protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square 27 years ago, a vigil that’s exposing divisions among the city’s pro-democracy activists over whether fighting for democracy in China is still part of their struggle.
While organizers say more than 100,000 will turn out in Victoria Park on Saturday, young Hong Kongers -- born after China’s deadly crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators in 1989 -- are increasingly turning their backs on the event. That shift reflects growing support for the so-called localist movement that seeks to divorce demands for more freedom for Hong Kong from efforts to reform China.