as trying to impose its values around the world."

THE Legislative Council last night threw out a motion sponsored by the

Democrats, aimed at vindicating the pro-democracy movement in Beijing

in 1989.

The motion, tabled by Szeto Wah, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in

Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, was defeated with

22 votes against, 20 for and 13 abstentions. Four legislators did not

vote.

The motion said: "This council commemorates the 10th anniversary of

the June 4 incident, mourns for those compatriots who died in the

incident, and considers that the pro-democracy movement in 1989 must

be vindicated."

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) and the

Hong Kong Progressive Alliance voted against the motion, while the

Liberal Party abstained.

DAB legislator Yeung Yiu-chung said: "The DAB voted against the

motion, based on the facts.

"According to a Spanish television report, all the student protesters

at Tiananmen Square withdrew peacefully from the scene, and nobody was

killed or injured."

Hong Kong Progressive Alliance chairman Ambrose Lau Hon-chuen said:

"The United States was involved in the incident. In fact, the US was

trying to impose its values around the world."

He said the US had been opposed to the mainland joining the World

Trade Organisation for 13 years. The recent Nato bombing of the

Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia was not related to the Tiananmen

crackdown, he added.

The Democratic Party's Cheung Man-kwong had urged members to abstain

rather than vote against the motion.

"By so doing, I think you would feel better at heart," he said.

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