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Hong Kong Cardinal Urges Forgiveness on Tiananmen Square 35th Anniversary

Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan of Hong Kong, marking the 35th anniversary of the infamous Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, urged Christians in China to “learn to proactively forgive” and “move beyond finger-pointing and the painful ‘I will never forgive’ mindset.”

In a May 30 reflection in the diocesan paper Sunday Examiner, Cardinal Chow said the 1989 massacre of innocent protestors “remains a sore spot that requires proper attention for healing. And I am praying for that closure to happen.”

“My faith, nonetheless, prompts me to forgive whoever and whatever. Maybe it is through forgiveness that the different parties can move beyond finger-pointing and the painful ‘I will never forgive’ mindset. With forgiveness already available, reconciliation and healing may stand a better chance of becoming a reality.”

During the June 4, 1989, clash between protesters and Chinese troops, tanks rolled into Beijing’s main city square and military forces opened fire on university students and other citizens calling for democratic reforms. The exact number of people who died in the massacre is not certain, but according to one account, as many as 10,000 people died, while the regime claimed fewer than 300 people did.

In mainland China, where information about Tiananmen is heavily censored, people have never been allowed to hold official commemorations of what is known as the “June 4 incident.” Hong Kong, however, which is a special administrative region of China, has long held annual candlelight vigils to commemorate the victims; Chow has said that he has in the past taken part in these commemorations.

In 2020, Chinese authorities forbade the commemorations amid the pandemic, though thousands defied the order. Protests in Hong Kong to mark Tiananmen have been heavily curtailed since then. According to the Associated Press, Hong Kong police have already arrested seven people on suspicion of alleged sedition over their posting of social media content about commemorating Tiananmen.

Referring to “the life-sapping event that took place 35 years ago in the capital city,” Chow, who was appointed to the Diocese of Hong Kong in 2021, said the incident “remains unsettling for many” and “left a deep wound in parts of our psyche, though it has been buried and scarred over.”

“Our God is a God of unconditional love. His forgiveness is always available for those who need it but are not yet courageous enough to ask for it. God’s unconditional love for us is overwhelmingly expressed through the passion and death of his only Son, even when we are living in a state of unconfessed sinfulness,” Chow continued.

Read more at National Catholic Register 

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