Hundreds March On Anniversary Of Tiananmen
Hong Kong Marchers Protesting China's 1989 Crackdown 1989 Also Honor Rescuers Of Quake Victims
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Protesters wearing T-shirts reading "We'll Never Forget" march in Hong Kong on Sunday, June 1, 2008 to mark the 19th anniversary of China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing 's Tiananmen Square. Protesters also held banners that honored the victims of the military crackdown in 1989, which killed at least hundreds, as well as victims of the recent earthquake. (AP Photo/Melanie Ko)
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Play CBS Video Video Tiananmen Square Protest While broadcasting live from Beijing, China, the Chinese authorities literally pull the plug on Dan Rather. Rather is later honored with many prestigious awards for his groundbreaking coverage.
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Video Rather On Tiananmen Dan Rather looks back at the 1989 student uprising and military crackdown at Tiananmen Square in a primetime CBS News special, "Dan Rather: A Reporter Remembers."
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Fast Facts China Learn about the people, economy and history.
But organizers faced the delicate task of not appearing insensitive at a time when China is mourning the deaths of more than 69,000 people from last month's earthquake in Sichuan province.
The marchers carried banners that honored the quake victims, as well as the victims of the 1989 military crackdown, which killed at least hundreds of people.
Some signs read, "Reverse the position on June 4," referring to the date of the Tiananmen crackdown and Beijing's stance that the protests were a "counterrevolutionary riot." Other signs read, "Pay tribute to the brave rescuers," referring to the rescue teams at the earthquake disaster sites.
The marchers, wearing black T-shirts, observed a brief moment of silence for the quake victims before setting off. They did not chant slogans, and organizers said they would donate funds raised during the march to quake relief efforts.
Veteran activist Szeto Wah said corruption and abuse of power played a role in both the earthquake disaster and the Tiananmen crackdown, noting allegations that shoddy construction had caused many buildings in Sichuan to crumble easily.
"Just because there's an earthquake, does it mean we don't need to reverse the position on June 4? Does it mean we don't need democracy? Does it mean we don't need to fight corruption?" Szeto told The Associated Press.
"Continuing to mourn the victims of June 4 doesn't mean we question the disaster in Sichuan," Richard Tsoi, another activist, said.
China had been under heavy international scrutiny before the earthquake on May 12. Protesters critical of China's human rights record had repeatedly tried to sabotage the Beijing Olympics torch relay.
Beijing's crackdown on anti-government riots in Tibet in March also provoked criticism.
But the deadly earthquake has shifted attention away from those issues.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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We don''t need an excuse, Isreal already has a reason to bomb Iran and we, as allies have agreed to help them with any trouble they have.
I see no resaon to defend any oppressive government whether it be Iran , China, Burma or Ours
China told the MS and Google how they will do business by the bloody china govt.
Re: "Their computer net is watched by their govt."
Yeah. Google and Microsoft help them with that.
That''s the "free market" for you.
tbweb,
You dissappoint.
Can''t you think of any reason to steer this news into an excuse to bomb Iran?
Thank you Hong Kong!