Concert for Democracy in China
The Concert for Democracy in China (Chinese: 民主歌聲獻中華) was a benefit concert held in Hong Kong in support of the students involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The concert was held on May 27, 1989, at the Happy Valley Racecourse on Hong Kong Island. The event lasted for 12 hours[1] and raised over HK$12,000,000[2] (1.5 million US dollars) for the students in Beijing.[3]
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Venue | Happy Valley Racecourse, Hong Kong |
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Date(s) | May 27, 1989 |
Duration | 12 hours |
Attendance | 200,000 – 1,000,000 |
Box office | HK$12,000,000 |
Event
The event was hosted by James Wong, Phillip Chan, Eric Tsang, and John Shum. Shum stated in a later interview that all the performers enlisted voluntarily and were not invited.[4] Sing Pao Daily News reported that the event was attended by nearly one million people,[5] while Ta Kung Pao reported around 500,000 participants.[6] Other estimates state the event was attended by around 200,000 people.[1][2]
Performers
- Albert Au
- Jacky Au
- Kenny Bee
- Beyond[7]
- Blue Jeans
- Teresa Carpio
- Agnes Chan
- Danny Chan
- Elisa Chan
- Jackie Chan[8][9]
- Chang Loo
- Wakin Chau
- Stella Chee
- Jacky Cheung
- Cheung Ming-man
- Norman Cheung
- Ram Chiang
- Angie Chiu
- Aling Choi
- Cherrie Choi
- Ken Choi
- Dominic Chow
- Vivian Chow
- Citybeat
- Maria Cordero
- Angela Fong
- Stephen Gan
- Grasshopper
- Suzan Guterres
- Hou Dejian[7]
- William Hu
- Andy Hui
- Joe Junior
- Elvina Kong
- Michael Kwan
- Shirley Kwan
- Alvin Kwok
- Cally Kwong
- Andrew Lam
- George Lam
- Gina Lam
- Sandy Lam
- Lam Lei
- Lam Manyee
- Sandra Lang
- Hacken Lee
- Tina Liu
- Gallen Lo
- Lowell Lo
- Loong Kim Sang
- David Lui
- Rosanne Lui
- Anthony Lun
- Jacqueline Man
- Max Mok
- Anita Mui[8]
- Ann Mui
- Mandy Mui
- Eddie Ng
- Florence Ng
- Ng Man-tat
- Yuen Fong Ng
- Bertha Ngai
- Elliot Ngok
- Rebecca Pan
- William So
- Danny Summer
- Tai Chi
- Roman Tam
- Patrick Tam
- Tat Ming Pair
- Joe Tay
- Teresa Teng
- Jenny Tseng
- Tsin Ting
- Alex To
- Orlando To
- Terence Tsoi
- Tsui Ping
- Tsui Siu-Ming
- Bill Tung
- Dave Wang
- Fanny Wang
- Liza Wang[8]
- Christopher Wong
- Sarah Wong
- Timothy Wong
- Zeta Wong
- Yolinda Yan
- Sally Yeh
- Frances Yip
- Johnny Yip
- Lucina Yu
- Franco Yuen
- Louis Yuen
Andy Lau,[8] Chow Yun-Fat, Alan Tam, Shing Fui-On, Loletta Lee, Chin Siu-ho, Maggie Cheung, Sharon Kwok, Cheung Kwok Keung and George Lam also delivered messages through a large screen on the stage.[10]
North American tour
The concert also toured outside of Hong Kong in 1990, namely with North American stops in Vancouver, San Francisco, New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Toronto.[1]
Aftermath
After the event, Lee Cheuk-yan, representing the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, was detained upon arriving in Beijing with HK$1,000,000 in donations made by the Hong Kong people to the event. He was forced to sign a letter of remorse and released three days later, while the funds were confiscated by authorities in Beijing.[11][12]
Donald Tsang attendance controversy
In June 2006, Szeto Wah and other participants recalled seeing Donald Tsang attend the event. Tsang, then the director of administration for the government, would have broken civil service rules by attending the concert. However, Tsang denied "unequivocally" he ever attended the event, stating that he had merely bumped into Szeto Wah after having dinner with his son at the Hong Kong Jockey Club.[13] At the 2006 commemoration of the 1989 protests in Hong Kong, Fernando Cheung also claimed that Donald Tsang attended the concert, which Tsang again denied.[14][15]
References
- Garofalo, Reebee (1992). Rockin' the Boat: Mass Music and Mass Movements. South End Press. pp. 135. ISBN 9780896084278.
Concert for Democracy in China.
- Kerns, Ann (1 October 2010). Who Will Shout If Not Us?: Student Activists and the Tiananmen Square Protest, China, 1989. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 92. ISBN 9780761363552.
- Scott, Margaret. "Hong Kong on Borrowed Time". Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- "Filmmaker: China must face 'history honestly' over Tiananmen protest". South China Morning Post. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- "《高歌民主獻中華 籌得一千三百萬》". 香港: 成報. 28 May 1989.
- "《五十萬港人出席演唱會,馬拉松歌聲歌頌愛國》". Hong Kong: Ta Kung Pao. 28 May 1989. Archived from the original (newspaper article scan) on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
- Tong, Elson (4 June 2016). "The Last Gunshot: The musical legacy of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- "Stars Take a Stand - Page 2 of 3 - Varsity". varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- Zhou, Viola (4 June 2021). "They Condemned Beijing for Crushing Tiananmen Protests. Now They Work for the Government". Vice. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- 民主歌聲獻中華 081/139 周潤發 劉德華 譚詠麟 張曼玉 錢小豪 李麗珍 張國強 郭秀雲 成奎安.................... 電話訪問 (video) (in Cantonese). 89concertchina (Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China). 4 September 2013 – via YouTube.
- Creery, Jennifer (4 June 2019). "'It's the same dictatorship': Veteran activist Lee Cheuk-yan on keeping the flame of the Tiananmen protests alive". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "【六四禁歌】中国梦一做五千年 巨龙呼唤民主". 新唐人电视台 (in Chinese). 1 June 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- "Nonsense! I wasn't at concert: Tsang". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- "新唐人電視台新聞週刊節目2006年6月19日". Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- "行政長官會見傳媒談話全文(只有中文)". www.info.gov.hk (in Chinese). 6 June 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
External links
- Full concert playlist on YouTube
- Official website (archived)