TAIPEI - AROUND twenty Taiwanese protesters held a candle-lit vigil in the capital on Wednesday to mark the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.
The group, including several former legislators from different political parties, protested China's bloody crackdown on a peaceful student rally in Beijing in 1989, during which hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed.
'The Chinese communist party must admit their wrongdoing in the event and unveil the truth,' a protester said in front of candles placed on the ground.
Tsai Ing-wen, chairman of the leading pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), also voiced her support for the Chinese democracy movement.
Representatives from the DPP demanded Beijing apologise to the families of those killed, release dissidents who have been imprisoned, and allow exiled student leaders to return to their homeland.
Their calls came as former student leader Wu'er Kaixi flew to the Chinese territory of Macau from Taipei, saying he wanted to turn himself in to face trial on the mainland. The dissident told AFP he was instead detained and asked by immigration officials to return to Taiwan.
The DPP also asked the China-friendly Ma Ying-jeou administration to speak out against what it called Beijing's abuse of human rights.
The DPP, as well as exiled Chinese student leaders, have said they suspected that Ma is shifting away from his past criticism of the crackdown as his administration seeks to improve cross-Strait ties. The accusation have been rejected by Mr Ma's office.
'President Ma has been consistent in the Tiananmen issues. He has not changed his stance before and after the inauguration,' Mr Ma's spokesman Wang Yu-chi said last week. He said Mr Ma would issue a statement reiterating his support of China's democracy movement upon his return from an overseas trip on June 4.
Cross-Strait relations have improved dramatically since Ma took office one year ago. The two sides have held three rounds of negotiations that resulted in regular direct flights, an easing of investment restrictions and a boost in tourism. -- AFP