Thousands of protesters have marched through Hong Kong to mark the upcoming anniversary of the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Xiong Yan, center, flashes a victory sign during a march to the government office in Hong Kong, 31 May 2009

About 5,000 demonstrators rallied Sunday in the part of Chinese territory where public commemorations of the events of 1989 are permitted.

Protesters urged the government in Beijing to reverse its verdict condemning the Tiananmen protests as a counterrevolutionary riot. 

They called for justice for the victims of the Chinese government's crackdown on June 3rd and 4th in which hundreds and possibly thousands of students and workers were killed on the streets of the Chinese capital.

The Hong Kong demonstrators were joined by Tiananmen protest leader Xiong Yan, who lives in exile in the United States.

Although Xiong was permitted entry to Hong Kong, Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot was refused.  Galschiot created a sculpture commemorating Tiananmen victims.

The French news agency, AFP, said a small group of students from the Chinese mainland joined the protest. 

AFP said the students wore t-shirts emblazoned with a quote from Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, who said, "Whoever suppresses student movements is bound to have a bad end."

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.