Author: Tsang Soo
Associated Press
HONG KONG (AP) — Heavy police units patrolled Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on June 4, with an overseas vigil the only one to commemorate the anniversary of the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 after authorities banned public commemorations for the third year in a row. An event place.
For decades, Hong Kong and neighbouring Macau were the only places in China allowed to commemorate the June 4, 1989, violent repression of student protesters demanding greater democracy in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square by the military. Hundreds or even thousands of people were killed.
The ban is seen as part of a move to stifle political dissent and a sign that Hong Kong is losing its freedoms as Beijing tightens its grip on the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
The Hong Kong Alliance for the Patriotic Democratic Movement of China, the organizer of the vigil, disbanded last year after many of its leaders were arrested on suspicion of violating the national security law, which was imposed after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Authorities have cited coronavirus risks for banning public commemorations for the past three years. Critics say the pandemic is being used as an excuse to violate the right to assembly.
A government statement on June 3 said parts of Victoria Park would be closed because it could be used for “illegal activities”. The move is to “prevent any unauthorized gatherings in the park” and reduce the potential for the spread of COVID-19.
Earlier this week, a police chief warned that anyone “expressing certain views in the same place, at the same time, and for a common purpose” could be considered part of an unauthorized gathering.
Despite the ban, some residents wore black in silent expressions of support, some even holding flowers, candles or flashlights on their phones.
“Today, it’s to commemorate June 4. I have to do it every year,” said Moon-won, wearing a black T-shirt that read “The People Will Not Forget” and holding an unlit candle Walking in the street.
Police stopped and searched several people, some of whom were dressed in black. It’s unclear if anyone has been arrested.
“I’m disappointed because, although no one is organizing any commemorations, the authorities are already on high alert,” said Donald Tam, who was shopping in the Causeway Bay area where the park is located.
Hong Kong has been governed under a “one country, two systems” framework since Britain handed it over to China in 1997, promising freedoms not available on the mainland, including freedom of speech and assembly. That means Hong Kong and another neighboring semi-autonomous territory, Macau, are allowed to commemorate the 1989 crackdown. Elsewhere in China, keywords such as “Tiananmen Massacre” and “June 4th” are heavily censored online, and people are not allowed to publicly flag the event.
Outside China, vigils were held in memory of the Tiananmen victims.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that despite attempts by China and Hong Kong to suppress memory of repression, his administration would continue to speak out and push for accountability for Chinese human rights abuses, including in Hong Kong, in western Xinjiang and Tibet.
“For the Chinese people and those who continue to oppose injustice and seek freedom, we will not forget June 4,” he said.
The U.S. consulate in Hong Kong lit candles in the windows of the building.
In Taiwan, an autonomous island claimed by Beijing as part of its territory, hundreds attended vigils. “At this time of year, many words cannot be spoken, many words cannot be written, and many words cannot be found online,” the foreign ministry wrote on Facebook.
The post encouraged Chinese citizens using VPNs to visit Facebook, which is blocked in China, and to search for information about the Tiananmen Square massacre, “to see what their country is hiding from them.”
“Taiwan has been commemorating the June 4 massacre, earlier than Hong Kong, and every place that hosts it (in the rest of the world) has its own interpretation,” said Lee Ming-che, a Taiwanese democracy activist. “We have to be aware of threats to China and protect Taiwan’s values of democracy, human rights and freedom.”
Graduate student Joanna Chen said commemorating the June 4 massacre is important because Taiwan is one of the few places in Greater China to publicly commemorate such an event.
“We must remind the people of Taiwan that democracy should not be taken for granted,” she said.
In Sydney, about 50 pro-democracy supporters lit candles outside the Chinese consulate to commemorate the massacre, with several police officers under surveillance.
In the Indian city of Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, lives, activists organized a street theater to mark the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. They used a cutout of a Chinese tank to recreate “Tank Man,” an iconic image of a student standing in front of a tank taken by the Associated Press, a symbol of courage in the face of the Chinese government’s crackdown on protests.
For the first time in 30 years, the Catholic Church in Hong Kong has skipped Mass for Tiananmen victims, after the diocese expressed concern that such incidents could violate national security laws.
Authorities have been using the law to crack down on the opposition, with more than 150 people arrested on charges of subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion to interfere in urban affairs.
The crackdown also includes universities. In December 2021, the University of Hong Kong demolished a sculpture called “Pillar of Shame”, which depicts a torn and twisted body symbolizing the lives lost in the Holocaust. Officials said the display of the sculpture had not yet been approved.
A day later, two other universities in the city removed monuments related to the memorial.
In response, artist Jens Galschioet, who created the “Column of Shame,” unveiled a full-scale replica of the 26-foot-tall sculpture at the University of Oslo, Norway.
