China Urged to Alter Stance on ’89 Protests

Six weeks before Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule, the British colony’s lawmakers urged Beijing to reverse its condemnation of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. The democracy movement was widely supported in Hong Kong, and many legislators viewed the motion as an opportunity to put their position on record before the legislature is disbanded July 1. The motion passed 29-1, with four abstentions. Twenty-six lawmakers did not attend. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were killed when China cracked down on pro-democracy protesters on June 4, 1989.