The annual June 4 candlelight vigil in memory of the events that occurred in 1989 in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square took place again at the Senado Square, but had fewer participants than in the past.
The vigil, organized by lawmakers Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San, was also attended by the leader of New Macau Association, Scott Chiang, who commented on the smaller numbers of participants. “Many people in Macau are not very concerned about June 4. They are more concerned with their personal and family welfare or with Macau government related issues,” he said. “There is also a great ignorance of the history.”
Chiang also anticipated that the vigil would attract fewer youngsters, as “many young people are more concerned with where to go during the weekend or with issues regarding their earnings. I think it would be important for people to have a more comprehensive look at what is around them and how their reality can change for the better,” concluded Scott Chiang.
Nevertheless, a good number of people gathered to remember those that suffered from the events related to the Tiananmen Square crackdown back in 1989 and a minute of silence was observed.
As the event started, a mainland tourist mother rushed her kid out of the square as he was asking “what happened and why were those people there,” not knowing about her intentions, and to justify her actions, she was heard replying “it is because this land before belonged to the foreigners.”
Curiosity caused a few tourists to join the locals, to whom some leaflets and newspapers with information regarding the event were distributed.
A Zhuhai resident interviewed by TDM said, “I don’t know much about it so I am reading about it now. This is my first time hearing about it.”
Another interviewee, a Hong Kong resident, added, “everything is under control [of the Central government] and they never really talked about the movement, the injuries or anything about that. I have friends from mainland China when I studied years ago in university, who have never heard of this.” RM
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