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Thousands March in Hong Kong to Commemorate June 4 Protests

by Associated Press

   HONG KONG --

   More than 2,000 people are marching in Hong Kong to mark 30 years since
   a pro-democracy protest in Beijing's Tiananmen Square ended in
   bloodshed.

   Demonstrators took to the streets Sunday afternoon holding yellow
   umbrellas that read "Support Freedom, Oppose Evil Laws."

   Some people carried a black coffin, while others pushed wheeled white
   crosses and the numbers 6 and 4 - a nod to the day on June 4, 1989,
   when leaders of China's ruling Communist Party ordered the military to
   re-take Tiananmen Square from student-led protesters.

   Hundreds, if not thousands, of unarmed protesters and onlookers were
   killed late on June 3 and in the early hours of June 4 as a result of
   the martial action.

   Commemorations of the event are strictly banned in mainland China.