Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/cnforbiddennews Like us on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/chinaforbiddennews After years of planning and fundraising, a permanent museum to remember the Tiananmen Square Crackdown on June 4 of 1989 has officially opened on April 26 in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui tourist district. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Alliance), said they built the museum, currently the only one that commemorates the June 4 Incident globally, to preserve and spread the truth. In addition, the museum can serve as a call of conscience and a promotion to China's democratization. Commentators said as Hong Kong was made its colony by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) opening of the June 4 Museum marked Hong Kong people saying "No" to the CCP. Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Alliance and Mak Hoi-wah, vice chairman of the Alliance, attended the museum opening ceremony along with many witnesses of China's 1989 protests. In the ceremony, they destroyed photocopies of the April 26 Editorial published by the People's Daily, which called the student movement a revolt. On April 26, 1989, the party mouthpiece People's Daily published an article on the student movement motivated by the death of former reformist party leader Hu Yaobang. The article defined the students' mourning activities at the Tiananmen Square as an anti-CCP revolt. This greatly intensified the conflicts between the Chinese people and the CCP, which led to a massive democratic movement followed by the massacre on June 4, 1989. The opening date of June 4 museum was selected on the 25th Anniversary of the April 26 Editorial. The museum was officially opened to the public on that day. Zhang Jian, a US-based China social issue researcher, said the opening of June 4 museum marks how Hong Kong people are worrying about China's democratization and the state's future. Meanwhile, they also worry that the CCP is gradually taking control of Hong Kong's future. Zhang Jian: "Since the Handover, Hong Kong has been gradually turned into the party's colony from a free port. Now Hong Kong has almost lost its principles in the ruling of law and democracy, and so no longer serves as a banner in Asia. Zhang Jian commented that, the opening of the June 4 museum marked Hong Kong's people saying "No" to the CCP at such as critical moment. Along with Reuters and Al Jazeera, about fifty media from all over the world and a hundred journalists reported on the opening ceremony. The museum was open for three hours in the afternoon. Visitors that queued to enter the museum included not just Hong Kong residents but also post-90's undergraduates from mainland China. On the other hand, a dozen pro-CCP activists protested near the museum. They claimed organizers of the museum are "betrayers". They set up a street booth for propaganda and even shouted swear words at museum visitors. In the past few weeks, some business owners sharing the same building with the museum also requested the museum close due to safety concerns. Over the years, the CCP has never mentioned a death toll in its crackdown of students and civilians with tanks and troops. All CCP official media never touch the topic of June 4 Incident. It is still an undeniable fact that the incident is most influential to China's development direction since 1989. Bao Tong, former secretary of CCP leader Zhao Ziyang, said corruption, moral degeneration and all kinds of illegal acts started to spread over the whole state after 1989. Yao Jianfu, former State Council research fellow on rural polices, said party leaders had chosen to maintain "stability" of the CCP with blood in the June 4 Incident. Yao Jianfu further commented that the 1989 crackdown completely destroyed Chinese peoples' expectations of democracy and freedom, and passion for political awareness. It shut down peoples' mouths and killed their consciences. "I cannot touch the problems but I can escape from them" or "A living dog is better than a dead lion" became new principles of Chinese people. The consciousness of morality, responsibility and vocation gradually disappeared in China. Bao Pu, director of Hong Kong's New Century Press, experienced the June 4 Incident himself. Bao said: "After the crackdown on June 4, it became clear to everyone that the CCP will arrest you or even shoot you if you do any street protests. The CCP also set the example that they will suppress any protests even if they are peaceful and legal." Zhang Jian said, since the June 4 Incident, the group that protests against the CCP most persistently and with the most courage, are Falun Gong practitioners who believe in "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance". Zhang Jian: "They stick with the principle of 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance', and have protested against 《神韵》2014世界巡演新亮点 http://www.ShenYunPerformingArts.org/

• published: 28 Apr 2014
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