We Respect Students' Vigil Choice: Tiananmen Mums

A spokeswoman of the Tiananmen Mothers group said on Monday they respect the decision of some Hong Kong youngsters to stay away from the annual vigil in Causeway Bay this year.

You Weijie said she still believes that the young people of Hong Kong will pursue justice and follow their consciences in other ways.

She thanked those who continue to organise the annual vigil at Victoria Park to remember the victims of Beijing's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests by students.

A founding member of the group, Zhang Xiangling, said she is still reeling from the pain of losing her companion in the fight for the vindication of the 1989 movement – her husband – late last year. But she vowed to stay strong to fight for justice for her son, who was gunned down in Tiananmen Square.

Zhang also spoke about her concern for Liu Xia, the widow of the late Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo. She criticised Beijing for putting Liu Xia under house arrest.

Zhang said she did not expect that 29 years after the massacre, all the central government has done is to increase surveillance on them and clamp down on discussion of the killings.

Families of the Tiananmen Square victims face restrictions on mourning their loved ones every year on June 4.

Muxidi Station, near the area where many pro-democracy protesters were killed in 1989, was heavily guarded by police on Monday morning.

Wan'an Cemetery, where eight victims were buried, was also sealed off. But officials made arrangements for some family members to make offerings at the cemetery.