20萬人以燭光代表哀思，悼念六四死難英靈；以歌聲表達期盼，爭取平反六四。六四20周年，香港人民力量再次凝聚維園，寫下歷史美麗一頁。他們相信，人民力量的火花，終有一天會燒遍中國大地，終有一天，會在天安門閃亮。
六四燭光集會昨晚在維園舉行，連同無法擠進會場、須在附近馬路離遠觀看的5萬人，主辦單位支聯會估計有20萬人出席集會，打破歷年紀錄。支聯會主席司徒華說：「維園可以坐得落地方，完全爆棚，創造一個歷史紀錄。」警方估計維園範圍內，最高時間聚集62,800人。
熊焱：公義屬於你們
集會原定8時開始，昨日天氣及時轉晴，早在傍晚6時左右已有第一批參加者到達維園足球場坐下等候集會開始。至7時50分，人群已逼爆六個足球場，大會須開放旁邊的草地。部份人則選擇坐在舞台後的籃球場，警方需要臨時封閉銅鑼灣近維園的道路，呼籲群眾不要進入維園。8時半左右，集會正式開始，舞台大螢幕播放《抗戰二十年》短片：「他雖走得早，他青春不老；灰色的軌跡，磨成血路。」樂隊Beyond的動人歌詞，配上八九民運及香港近20年歷史大事的畫面，把現場氣氛推上第一次高潮。八九學運領袖熊焱連同一眾支聯會常委向人民烈士永垂不朽紀念碑獻花後，由司徒華及一群89年出生的年輕人代表燃點火炬。支聯會副主席蔡耀昌致悼辭說：「最近的一次香港民意調查，支持平反六四的有百分之61.2，這是十年來的新高，說明了人心不死，公義是屬於你們的。」隨後，全場默哀，然後播放天安門母親丁子霖的錄音演詞。丁子霖向在場的香港人致謝，感謝香港人為六四亡靈、為死難者家屬代言。丁子霖批評香港特首曾蔭權的「代表論」，指他與大陸黨政要人為六四屠殺辯護如出一轍：「我們堅信一條，這個世界不可能永遠靠金錢和權力來主宰，它總有公理在。」其後的大會宣言也指出：「我們在二十年後的今晚又再燃點起堅持了二十年的燭光。每一點燭光代表六四屠殺在我們心坎內、良知內留下了不能磨滅的印記。良知是普世價值，亦是貫穿人類歷史的價值。一個社會、一個國家、一個民族，沒有了良知就是沒有了靈魂，與禽獸沒有分別。」
與會者誓言更團結
宣言續說：「這是一場記憶與遺忘的鬥爭、良知與冷血的鬥爭、民主與專制的鬥爭。這場鬥爭，我們只許成功，不許失敗。我們會更團結，更有決心為平反六四、建設民主中國，抗爭到底，民主潮流不可抗拒，勝利是屬於我們堅持良知的中國人民！」對於平反六四的信心，出席集會的人有不同的見解。72歲的李先生跟很多年輕人一樣，今年首次在維園燃點蠟燭。他說：「我相信六四將來一定可以平反，好似台灣228咁，平反信心係百分百，樂觀睇，再過廿年就可以，我呢代唔得，咪下一代囉。」陪妻兒一家三口前來的劉先生則說，每年一度的維園燭光集會一定有作用：「我估計中共某領導唔度時候，六四就會平反。集會作用一定有，香港係全中國唯一可以悼念六四地方，如果我都放棄，共產黨就會成功。」八九學運領袖熊焱說，燭光集會的意義重大，個人來說，他有點重回天安門廣場的感覺，對於目前在內地抗爭的同胞來說，燭光集會證明六四精神不死：「香港的悼念活動，向全中國、全世界發出一個聲音，就是中國人追求民主的精神，沒有消失。」
華叔：高興不起來
活動最後一個環節是火化弔唁冊，然後全場齊唱《祭英烈》，以慷慨激昂的歌聲作為今次歷史性集會的終結。司徒華其後接受訪問，認為燭光集會參加人數創下歷史新高，是由於今年是20周年，市民比較重視。他又感謝特首及港大前學生會會長陳一諤早前的言論，刺激市民參加。支聯會以薪火相傳作口號，今年特別多年輕人出席。不過，司徒華說，他並不會以「興奮」或「滿意」來形容自己的心情：「要等到平反六四一日，我先會高興。」民主黨前主席李柱銘滿意出席人數，並高興見到大量年輕人參與，相信香港的民主有希望。
歷年六四燭光集會參與人數：
1990年份大會公佈：150,000警方估計：80,000
1991年份大會公佈：100,000警方估計：60,000
1992年份大會公佈：80,000警方估計：28,000
1993年份大會公佈：40,000警方估計：12,000
1994年份大會公佈：40,000警方估計：12,000
1995年份大會公佈：35,000警方估計：16,000
1996年份大會公佈：45,000警方估計：16,000
1997年份大會公佈：55,000警方估計：沒有公佈
1998年份大會公佈：40,000警方估計：16,000
1999年份大會公佈：70,000警方估計：沒有公佈
2000年份大會公佈：45,000警方估計：沒有公佈
2001年份大會公佈：48,000警方估計：沒有公佈
2002年份大會公佈：45,000警方估計：沒有公佈
2003年份大會公佈：50,000警方估計：沒有公佈
2004年份大會公佈：82,000警方估計：48,000
2005年份大會公佈：45,000警方估計：22,000
2006年份大會公佈：44,000警方估計：19,000
2007年份大會公佈：55,000警方估計：27,000
2008年份大會公佈：48,000警方估計：18,000
2009年份大會公佈：*200,000警方估計：62,800
* 以維園內150,000人加上未能入場的50,000人計算
(資料來源：《蘋果》資料室)
(轉載自《蘋果日報》2009年6月5日的報道)
2009年6月5日 星期五
新一代發言致悼辭 平反六四薪火相傳
六四20 周年燭光晚會加強了青年人的參與，包括首次安排1989 年出生的青年讀出《青年宣言》；以往由支聯會副主席李卓人、常委張文光等讀出《大會宣言》，今年就改由新一代常委葉楚茵及李耀基讀出；學聯秘書處周澄亦發表演講；讓平反六四的重任薪火相傳。
一批年輕人伴司徒華獻花點火炬晚會的序幕是播放歌曲《媽媽我沒有過錯》及已故中共總書記趙紫陽的錄音講話。然後，一批20 歲年輕人首次陪伴支聯會主席司徒華為亡者獻花及燃點火炬，接，過去19 年來都由華叔發表的悼辭，昨晚首次交由40 多歲的副主席蔡耀昌負責。
常委李耀基表示，今年主題重視薪火相傳，支聯會希望以年青面孔帶出民運可薪火相傳。他認為青年人對於六四的印象模糊，甚至抽離，故他希望自己及其他年青的支聯會成員能成為動力，令年輕人關心六四，幫助支聯會做好推動及教育新一代的工作。
在保良局李城璧中學任教多年的通識課主任張銳輝，每年都會在課堂上講述六四，希望令沒有經歷六四的新一代能更認識六四，21 歲的支聯會常委葉楚茵就是他的門生。現時正讀浸大社會學系一年級的葉楚茵稱，中四那年，張銳輝第一次帶她到六四晚會，那年對她衝擊很大，老師後來又帶學生到內地看基層和上訪者，更加感到中央政府當年不應鎮壓爭取民主自由的群眾。
因此，她加入了學生會，後來加入學聯和支聯會。
她形容說： 「張Sir 是我投入六四、投入民主運動的起步，第二步是學聯。」去年12 月她獲選入支聯會常委，她希望可以作為老一輩支聯會成員和年輕人之間的橋樑。
(轉載自《明報》2009年6月5日的報道)
一批年輕人伴司徒華獻花點火炬晚會的序幕是播放歌曲《媽媽我沒有過錯》及已故中共總書記趙紫陽的錄音講話。然後，一批20 歲年輕人首次陪伴支聯會主席司徒華為亡者獻花及燃點火炬，接，過去19 年來都由華叔發表的悼辭，昨晚首次交由40 多歲的副主席蔡耀昌負責。
常委李耀基表示，今年主題重視薪火相傳，支聯會希望以年青面孔帶出民運可薪火相傳。他認為青年人對於六四的印象模糊，甚至抽離，故他希望自己及其他年青的支聯會成員能成為動力，令年輕人關心六四，幫助支聯會做好推動及教育新一代的工作。
在保良局李城璧中學任教多年的通識課主任張銳輝，每年都會在課堂上講述六四，希望令沒有經歷六四的新一代能更認識六四，21 歲的支聯會常委葉楚茵就是他的門生。現時正讀浸大社會學系一年級的葉楚茵稱，中四那年，張銳輝第一次帶她到六四晚會，那年對她衝擊很大，老師後來又帶學生到內地看基層和上訪者，更加感到中央政府當年不應鎮壓爭取民主自由的群眾。
因此，她加入了學生會，後來加入學聯和支聯會。
她形容說： 「張Sir 是我投入六四、投入民主運動的起步，第二步是學聯。」去年12 月她獲選入支聯會常委，她希望可以作為老一輩支聯會成員和年輕人之間的橋樑。
(轉載自《明報》2009年6月5日的報道)
The people have not forgotten
History turned full circle last night when an estimated 150,000 candle-bearers illuminated Victoria Park to commemorate those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown - the same number who massed for the first vigil in 1990.
But the number of mourners on the 20th anniversary of the crackdown was probably far higher. Thousands of people massed outside the jam-packed park, unable to enter. Organisers said 50,000 were left at the gates.
Many in the crowd remarked at the number of young people present.
With flickering flames in their hands, protesters chanted their demands for vindication of those killed by troops in Beijing and for a democratic China free of corruption.
Twenty years have passed and the bloodstains on Tiananmen Square have long been washed away, said Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, which organises the annual vigil. But this episode in history is still engraved on the hearts of people who have a sense of justice. We can still smell the blood ... We have won this battle against forgetting, he told the crowd.
Police put last night's attendance at 62,800. Last year 48,000 took part, according to organisers, while police put the number at 15,700.
Alliance chairman Szeto Wah said the turnout - including many young people born after 1989 - showed the success of efforts to pass the flame of remembrance to a new generation.
The stream of people flooding into the park in early evening quickly filled its six soccer pitches and by 8pm had spilled into neighbouring areas. In the crowded streets outside, it took more than 20 minutes to walk the 200 metres from Tin Hau MTR station to the park gates.
Activists said such scenes had not been seen since the anti-government march on July 1, 2003, when 500,000 took to the streets.
Every single candle represents the unforgettable mark of the June 4 massacre, the alliance's manifesto said. We are lighting up hopes for democracy and freedom in China.
Many in the crowd wept as wreaths were laid before a makeshift memorial to the martyrs.
Six days after stepping on Chinese soil for the first time in 17 years, Xiong Yan , the first exiled former leader of the student protests in Beijing to join the annual vigil, told the crowd: Hong Kong is the pride of all Chinese - because you have people who dare to defend freedom.
Excerpts from the audio-taped memoirs recorded by late Communist Party secretary general Zhao Ziyang, who sympathised with the student protesters, were played, along with a recorded message from Ding Zilin, leader of the Tiananmen Mothers group of bereaved parents campaigning for justice for their dead children.
Jeers went up from the crowd when an image of Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen - who stirred controversy last month with his call for an objective assessment of June 4 - was shown on giant screens next to that of former premier Li Peng, who was among those held responsible for ordering the crackdown.
While the vigil formally ended at 10.30pm, many chose to linger to hear pro-democracy songs, among them Freedom Flowers, which includes the line: We have a dream. It won't die. Remember.
(Source: SCMP, 5 June 2009)
But the number of mourners on the 20th anniversary of the crackdown was probably far higher. Thousands of people massed outside the jam-packed park, unable to enter. Organisers said 50,000 were left at the gates.
Many in the crowd remarked at the number of young people present.
With flickering flames in their hands, protesters chanted their demands for vindication of those killed by troops in Beijing and for a democratic China free of corruption.
Twenty years have passed and the bloodstains on Tiananmen Square have long been washed away, said Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, which organises the annual vigil. But this episode in history is still engraved on the hearts of people who have a sense of justice. We can still smell the blood ... We have won this battle against forgetting, he told the crowd.
Police put last night's attendance at 62,800. Last year 48,000 took part, according to organisers, while police put the number at 15,700.
Alliance chairman Szeto Wah said the turnout - including many young people born after 1989 - showed the success of efforts to pass the flame of remembrance to a new generation.
The stream of people flooding into the park in early evening quickly filled its six soccer pitches and by 8pm had spilled into neighbouring areas. In the crowded streets outside, it took more than 20 minutes to walk the 200 metres from Tin Hau MTR station to the park gates.
Activists said such scenes had not been seen since the anti-government march on July 1, 2003, when 500,000 took to the streets.
Every single candle represents the unforgettable mark of the June 4 massacre, the alliance's manifesto said. We are lighting up hopes for democracy and freedom in China.
Many in the crowd wept as wreaths were laid before a makeshift memorial to the martyrs.
Six days after stepping on Chinese soil for the first time in 17 years, Xiong Yan , the first exiled former leader of the student protests in Beijing to join the annual vigil, told the crowd: Hong Kong is the pride of all Chinese - because you have people who dare to defend freedom.
Excerpts from the audio-taped memoirs recorded by late Communist Party secretary general Zhao Ziyang, who sympathised with the student protesters, were played, along with a recorded message from Ding Zilin, leader of the Tiananmen Mothers group of bereaved parents campaigning for justice for their dead children.
Jeers went up from the crowd when an image of Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen - who stirred controversy last month with his call for an objective assessment of June 4 - was shown on giant screens next to that of former premier Li Peng, who was among those held responsible for ordering the crackdown.
While the vigil formally ended at 10.30pm, many chose to linger to hear pro-democracy songs, among them Freedom Flowers, which includes the line: We have a dream. It won't die. Remember.
(Source: SCMP, 5 June 2009)
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