HONG KONG (UCAN) -- Wan Yu, born on June 4, 1989, knows more about the significance of his birth date since a school meeting at which his teacher discussed the Chinese government's crackdown on demonstrators that day.

He told UCA News June 5 that his teachers had never discussed the June 4 Incident prior to that meeting, nor do school textbooks mention it. That assembly, three years ago, "was the first and the only occasion" at which a teacher mentioned the incident, said the student at a local Catholic school.

Since that day, according to Wan, he has wanted to take part in the annual June 4 candlelight vigil at Victoria Park to mourn the students who died. But his family objects, he said, because they do not want him to get involved in politics, especially on that "politically sensitive" date.

On June 4, 1989, the Chinese government cracked down on tens of thousands of students and civilians in Beijing calling for democracy and clean government. Reports said about 1,000 died and thousands were injured.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which the Chinese government has labeled subversive, organizes the annual vigil here commemorating the incident.

Lee Haimark, who was born eight days after Wan, his classmate, also says he began to understand the June 4 Incident better after his teacher's presentation. The Catholic youth told UCA News his parents had mentioned he was born "during a turbulent time." He considers education at school "very important for students to know the truth."

Lee shared that before the teacher's explanation, he had read about the 1989 pro-democracy movement on the Internet but could not grasp its significance.

He joined the vigil for the first time this year. "Maybe my parents thought that I'm already grown up and have my own independent thinking, so they let me participate," he said.

One volunteer at the vigil, who also was born in 1989 and who requested anonymity, told UCA News this was his third time to join the event. "I learned about the alliance through the Internet. ... I hope I can do something for the students who died in Beijing," he said.

The volunteer described remarks that legislator Ma Lik made recently about the 1989 incident as "disrespectful to the victims and their families."

Ma, who heads the main pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong, told media May 16 that the June 4 Incident was not a massacre in terms of scale. He stressed that teachers should not teach about the incident in class.

Lam Wun, 17, told UCA News she was drawn to the vigil by songs she heard while walking past the park. "I read about the (June 4) incident from newspapers, and this was my first time attending the vigil." She found "the feeling was very somber, very sad."

She pointed out that "there is freedom of procession and assembly in Hong Kong" and could not imagine that these could be illegal, let alone that they could lead to death.

Her mother, Cassia, 52, told UCA News she was pregnant with Lam Wun when she joined demonstrations in Hong Kong in 1989 against the Chinese government's crackdown. She brought two sons, 9 and 6 at the time, with her.

"I hoped to let my children know the truth, to witness history," she noted. But she admitted she was negligent in not informing her daughter about the events.

Man Sau-wai attended most of the vigils during the past 18 years. She told UCA News that she participated even when pregnant with her son four years ago. Since then, she has brought her son to the event to enable him to understand the historical facts at an early age.

Her son, Chan Tin-lok, told UCA News he will pray for those who died in the pro-democracy movement. He will "pray to the Lord to accept their souls."

Lam Lok-Hin, 10, said his grandmother, who brought him and his and 7-year-old sister Yan-Yat to the vigil, had told him about the June 4 Incident.

The grandmother, Yuen Mei-Fong, told UCA News: "If we don't tell them, they won't know this history. They have a right to know."

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(Accompanying photos available at here)