June 4, 1989, the student democracy movement in Tiananmen Square was crushed by the Chinese military. Twenty-three years later, the symbol of China’s democracy movement survives in Hong Kong.
Opened in April by the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, this is the first museum in the world dedicated to the memory of the Tiananmen massacre.
Lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan is co-chair of the alliance, "We hope the artifacts can really help getting the feeling across, the emotion to those who visit the museum, so they really understand what happened and will continue to struggle for democracy and human rights in China. The Chinese government forbids discussion of the Tiananmen crackdown. But, Lee says, some of Hong Kong's 30-million annual tourists from mainland China are now visiting the museum to learn more.
"Of course, China will not even allow on the net the two words ‘June 4th’ or ‘Tiananmen Square Massacre’ never. Then this can be really, this can be really a focal point where main lander...mainlanders can understand what happened June 4th."
The museum is just the latest example of Hong Kong's unique ties to the June 4th Movement - an involvement that goes back to 1989. This week, the 6/4 theater company performs a play called Yellow Bird.
In the days after the Tiananmen crackdown, Hong Kong activists helped smuggle students out of Beijing, through Hong Kong and on to the United States and Canada. The secret program was code named Operation Yellow Bird. It ran for eight years, until 1997.
Despite Hong Kong’s freedoms, producing a play about Tiananmen is no easy proposition, says director Lo Ching-man.
"You want to book a venue, a performance venue, and nobody will let you do it. If you want to do a bus.. shuttle bus ad on the bus, the bus company will say no. There is some interference, but you do not know where it came from. This is something really horrible.".
Sheena Yu was just a toddler when the Tiananmen crackdown occurred. She suggests June 4th remains relevant to Hong Kong as Beijing’s control over the city grows.
"Those students...
