As China tightens its control over Hong Kong, activists in the city defied a police ban and broke through barricades Thursday evening to mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of a democracy movement centred on Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
With democracy all but snuffed out in mainland China, the focus has shifted increasingly to semi-autonomous Hong Kong, where authorities for the first time banned an annual candlelight vigil marking the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown.
Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed when tanks and troops moved in on the night of June 3-4, 1989, to break up weeks of student-led protests that had spread to other cities and were seen as a threat to Communist Party rule. As has become customary, many dissidents were placed under house arrest and their communications with the outside world cut off, according to rights groups.
Thousands have been arrested in the demonstrations, which were sparked by proposed legislation that could have allowed suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial. "We have been doing this for 30 years, we have the right to do this, this is a peaceful procession," he said, stating that it would be "absurd" if this behaviour is criminalized.
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