Keep up the June 4 struggle - last words of 'Uncle Wah'

Hong Kong mourned the death of Szeto Wah, a staunch defender of democracy, after he lost his battle with lung cancer yesterday.

Szeto, affectionately known as 'Uncle Wah', died at Prince of Wales Hospital at 12.56pm. He was 79.

When his death was announced, the sorrow was shared by all walks of life, not just his longtime political allies and friends. People who had never met him showed up at the hospital to pay their respects.

'He has finished his path. He has guarded his faith. He now rests in peace with loved ones beside him,' said the Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, who worked closely with Szeto after the June 4, 1989, crackdown in Tiananmen Square. 'His last words to Hong Kong were that [the] June 4 [movement] must be vindicated and we should hold on to the fight.'

Chu will chair a funeral committee for Szeto that comprises core members of the Democratic Party, the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China and the Professional Teachers' Union, the three influential bodies Szeto helped to found in a political career spanning four decades.

The teacher turned politician had requested that his body be cremated and half of the ashes be scattered over Hong Kong waters so they would return to the mainland, which he had not visited since 1989. The rest would be scattered in a garden at Cape Collinson Crematorium, Chu said.

The funeral will be at St Andrew's Church in Tsim Sha Tsui on January 29 and a public memorial service at Tsim Sha Tsui Baptist Church the day before. More than 1,000 internet users paid tribute on Facebook yesterday.