Thousands of people take part in the annual vigil in Victoria Park to commemorate the 1989 Beijing massacre. File photo: RTHK
The Federation of Students has split from the group that organises the annual vigil in Victoria Park to mark the 1989 Beijing massacre.
The federation – the city's oldest student body – had been a member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China for nearly 30 years.
The federation said on Monday that its decision was partly because it does not agree with the alliance's idea of Hong Kong people working to bring democracy to the mainland.
The alliance's chairman, lawmaker Albert Ho, said the student's decision was regrettable.
"I hope they will still stand firm on their own platform and continue to support the course of justice and democracy in China", he said.
The federation had come in for severe criticism for its role in the Occupy protests in 2014. Some student unions later quit the group.
Ten student unions at tertiary institutions have already said they want to hold their own vigil at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on June 4 to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the massacre.
In another development, the federation said it has also decided to quit the Civil Human Rights Front, an umbrella group of different groups, which organises the annual July 1 rallies.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1256445-20160425.htm
