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Tiananmen Square crackdown
Hong KongPolitics

Tiananmen Square memorial vigil in Hong Kong yielded record donations on 30th anniversary of bloody crackdown, organisers say

  • Lee Cheuk-yan of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China says public contributed HK$2.7 million on Tuesday night
  • Lee says he also hoped people would turn out on Sunday to march against government’s controversial extradition bill

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The 30th anniversary June 4 candlelight vigil at Victoria Park drew 180,000 people, according to organisers. Photo: Felix Wong
Karen Zhang
Organisers of Hong Kong’s annual vigil for the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown said they took their biggest ever donations haul following a record turnout to mark the incident’s 30th anniversary, which pan-democrats claimed as a sign of residents’ increasing willingness to back their movement.
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The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China received more than HK$2.7 million (US$344,356) during the June 4 vigil on Tuesday night.

It was the highest amount collected at a vigil ever, the previous record being HK$2.3 million in 2012, according to Lee Cheuk-yan, general secretary of the alliance.

The group said a record crowd of more than 180,000 people had attended the Victoria Park event, compared with last year’s 115,000. The police put this year’s figure at 37,000 at its peak.

Lee said donations were driven by the elevated turnout and concern about Hong Kong’s future, especially amid a public backlash over an extradition bill that would allow the city to hand over fugitives to jurisdictions with which it has no previous agreement.

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