HONG KONG/TAIPEI -- Hong Kong's Victoria Park was once again illuminated by a sea of candles as part of an annual vigil to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, though Saturday night's gathering saw the lowest turnout in seven years as divisions simmered between the city's democracy advocates.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, which organized the vigil, estimated an attendance of 125,000 people, down from last year's 135,000 and the record crowd of over 180,000 for the crackdown's 25th anniversary in 2014. Police meanwhile claimed an attendance at 21,800 at the event's peak, less than half the figure of last year's official estimate.
