Vigil donations to help fund archive on 1989 democracy movement

Donations totalling HK$2.1 million raised from the record number of attendees at the June 4 vigil in the city will go partly towards setting up a public archive on the 1989 pro-democracy movement in Beijing.

The record-breaking donation reflected residents' determination to seek vindication for the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, said the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, which organised the annual vigil at Victoria Park on Thursday.

It is amazing how Hong Kong people, despite being hard-hit by the financial tsunami, still decided to dig deep in support of the fight for a democratic China, alliance vice-chairman Lee Cheuk-yan said. The donation figure and the huge turnout really showed their determination.

The alliance set up fund-raising booths during the event, together with others manned by various political parties and pressure groups. It expected to see more than HK$1 million left over after deducting the cost of holding the vigil, and expenses for running its offices and activities.

Another vice-chairman, Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheung, said the group was considering using the money to create a permanent archive or small museum so that the public could have access to the information it had gathered about the June 4, 1989, incident.

To pass on the torch of June 4 to the next generation, we need proper education, and one important avenue is to present and promote this part of history in a public archive, Mr Tsoi said. This could complement the alliance's efforts in developing the internet as a tool to spread the word about the crackdown, he said.

Mr Lee said the most the alliance had raised in donations in recent years was in 1997, when amid fears that the group would be banned after the handover, vigil participants gave more than HK$1.9 million.

Other political groups also benefited. The League of Social Democrats, Citizens' Radio and April Fifth Movement received a combined HK$500,000. The Civic Party also saw its coffers boosted by more than HK$100,000 through donations and the sale of T-shirts decrying Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.

Although we have never requested any other groups to share a percentage of their funds raised during the vigil, the alliance will always welcome donations from them in support of our work to vindicate June 4, Mr Tsoi said.

Since 2004, participating groups of the annual July 1 demonstration have shared a percentage of the funds raised with the organiser, the Civil Human Rights Front.

(Source: SCMP, 6 June 2009)