HONG KONG (UCAN) -- Catholics were among nearly 50,000 people at a vigil urging accountability on behalf of victims of the May 12 Sichuan earthquake and the June 4, 1989, government crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Beijing.

A prayer gathering preceded the June 4 candlelight vigil at Victoria Park, an annual commemoration of what is locally known as the "June 4 Incident." 

"In light of the Sichuan quake, some people suggested not to mention the June 4 Incident this year," Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong noted at the prayer gathering. But he drew links between both events.

Mainland students and workers in 1989 demanded a clean government and greater democracy in the country, he pointed out.

According to media reports, grieving parents and others are blaming corrupt officials for substandard construction of school buildings, nearly 7,000 of which collapsed due to the quake. Thousands of students and teachers died.

About 500 Catholics at the prayer organized by the Union of Hong Kong Catholic Organizations in Support of the Patriotic and Democratic Movement in China watched a slideshow of scenes from the 1989 incident and the quake, and prayed for all the victims.

They also prayed Chinese leaders would eventually show the same transparency and openness in addressing the June 4 incident as they did in responding to the recent calamity.

Cardinal Zen lauded the leaders' humanity and respect for life as shown in their determination to save lives and their openness to allow media reports from disaster areas. Earlier he said this had given birth to "a new China."

Noting that the Chinese government has characterized the June 4 Incident as a "riot," he added that rectifying this stance by recognizing the pro-democracy movement would win China a gold medal worth more than any Olympic victory. 

Next year, the 20th anniversary of June 4, would be a good time to resolve this, the prelate suggested. The "Tiananmen Mothers," a group of mothers and families of those killed in the 1989 crackdown, could then observe a moment of silence at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, he continued.

Cheung Sze-man, the spokesperson for the organizing group, told UCA News the theme of the prayer gathering this year was changed from "breaking news blockage" to "democratic China" in light of the openness the Chinese government has shown for news reporting in the May 12 quake rescue and relief efforts.

A priest at the prayer pointed out to UCA News that the Tiananmen crackdown was a human-made tragedy, while the Sichuan tragedy was a combination of human and natural disasters, since corruption was a factor in the collapsed schools. He prayed God would protect China and bless mainland Chinese with freedom, equality, justice and peace.

Father Franco Mella, a Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions priest, told UCA News he hoped that with China's changes in recent years, the Chinese government would listen to the voices of its people, and not just during disasters.

Ambrose Lam Hak-man, 15, a Holy Cross parishioner, feels the Sichuan quake awakened local people's love for the country and their desire to know more about the mainland. The youth told UCA News he thinks the appeal for a clean government in 1989 could also be applied to the problems that emerged in quake-hit areas.

After the prayer gathering, many Catholics joined the candlelight vigil organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic and Democratic Movement in China in the same park. The vigil mourned the dead in 1989 and Sichuan quake, represented by two monuments set up in the middle of the rally, and called for reappraisal of the June 4 incident.

Vigil organizers said they would donate the funds collected at the rally and other commemorative events -- normally used to defray operating costs -- to Sichuan relief efforts. They estimated 48,000 participants, while police estimated 15,000.

The rally broadcast messages from a "Tiananmen mother," and the families of human rights activists Chen Guangcheng and Hu Jia. Mainland authorities have imprisoned Chen, a visually impaired activist who received the Asian Magsaysay Award in 2007, and Hu.

In Macau, about 70 residents joined a candlelight vigil commemorating the June 4 incident and the quake victims.

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