Thousands in Hong Kong mourn China's Zhao

Thousands of people in Hong Kong paid tribute to China's purged leader Zhao Ziyang at a candlelight vigil yesterday, the largest gathering yet on Chinese soil to mourn his death.

Zhao is held in high regard by many in Hong Kong for daring to stand up to his colleagues, sympathising with the pro-democracy movement of 1989 and opposing the eventual crackdown on it by the Chinese military.

"Mourn Ziyang! Vindicate the June 4 movement! Release democracy campaigners!" chanted the crowd, many of them holding white candles. Organisers estimated a turnout of 8,000.

The mourners observed a minute's silence and bowed before a portrait of Zhao that was flanked by banners reading "End one-party rule", a slogan that Chinese officials have condemned.

The one-time heir-apparent to Deng Xiaoping died on Monday aged 85, after spending the last 15 years of his life under house arrest for siding with the movement, which ended when tanks rolled onto Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds, maybe even thousands, of protesters on June 3 and 4, 1989.

"I think Zhao is the father of democracy. I'm happy for him because he is now free at last," said mourner Sam Lau, 50.

A weeping 69-year-old woman, who identified herself as grandmother Kwok, said: "He was great. I will always remember him."

Memories of the military tanks rolling into the square remain vivid in the minds of many people in Hong Kong, which reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 with Beijing's promises of a high degree of autonomy.