May 17, 2007

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  I remember it like it was yesterday. 4th June 1989 was a Sunday and it was a rainy day in HK.

  
  

  For several months leading to the massacre the news covered extensively stories from Beijing. We were familiarised with names of student leaders like Chai Ling, Feng Chongde, Wuer Kaixi, Wang Dan. For months the students had been camping out at Tiananmen Square protesting and fasting. The Goddess of Democracy was erected at the Square, giving spiritual and emotional support to the students.

  
  

  Almost everyone in HK showed support to the students. I remember going on demonstrations with my parents 3 times. Figures showed that approximately 1.5million HK citizens marched in the streets of HK, and that was around 20% of the population.

  
  

  My mum hated crowds and still does, but she marched along with tens of thousands of other HKers. I remember walking from Wong Nai Chung Road in Happy Valley to the Eastern Corridor. I remember watching ¥Á¥DºqÁnÄm¤¤µØ on TV. I still remember the words to the theme song ·R¦Û¥Ñ and ¦å¬Vªº­·ªö.

  
  

  There was also a lighter side to the situation. My mum gave me a menu someone wrote with names of the parties involved, like §^º¸¶}§ÆªÛ³Â½k, etc. I had a good laugh with my classmates.

  
  

  I can't remember whether my teachers had discussed with us about what was going on in Beijing. But I do remember one thing : On Monday 5th June 1989 all TVs remained turned on throughout class. We did not have any lessons that day. We just watched the news. My school did the right thing to not under-estimate how much a 9y-o could absorb.

  
  

  Then there was the massacre on 4th June 1989. I remember ATV news reporter made a live broadcast and he said he must leave the Square because it was too dangerous to stay and he apologised to everyone in HK. The reporter, and other reporters, then retreated to nearby hotels, and filmed from their rooms. I cannot remember what they said, but I do remember they sounded really disturbed.

  
  

  The massacre only happened for a few hours. On the morning of 4th June Beijing was left with the aftermath of the massacre - blood, corpses, burnt bicycles, bent fences, etc.

  
  

  I don't remember what my parents thought of it. But I do remember my mum giving me stickers which said ¤¤°ê¤H¤£¥´¤¤°ê¤H, etc. (A Chinese person should not hurt another Chinese person). I distributed them in class, and stuck a few on my window. My mum placed one on her car. I believe she got them from her office, which was HK Electric, owned by local tycoon Li Ka Shing. 

  
  

  I remember listening to an audio clip recorded by Chai Ling describing the event and I got chills down my spine. Later it was revealed that Chai Ling, etc left Beijing and escaped to the West via HK.

  
  

  It was a very traumatic event, even for a 9y-o. Poeple literally fled HK, fearing the the worst after the handover of HK to the PRC Government in 1997. My own parents left HK in 1996, having spent most of their lives here. In 1986 there were 82 children in my grade, and by the time we graduated in 1992 only 60 were left because they had emigrated.

  
  

  Several days ago Ma Lik, chairman of local left-wing political party DAB, made some terrible comments on the said event. I believe in freedom of speech, but his comments were absolutely inappropriate. It caused a stir in HK, and also in me. Ma Lik denied there was ever a massacre, and said people don't become 'mince meat' (a term that has been used in this regard since 1989) after being run over by a tank which weighs 37 tonnes.

  
  

  I quote from Hemlock, They do not turn human bodies into ¡¥mince¡¦.  The word is ¡¥pulp¡¦.

  
  

   

  • 4:48 am
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