Heavy police presence patrols Hong Kong on Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary
Police maintained a heavy presence in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on Saturday after authorities for a 3rd consecutive yr banned public commemoration of the anniversary of the lethal Tiananmen Sq. crackdown in 1989, with vigils abroad the one place marking the occasion.
For many years, Hong Kong and close by Macao have been the one locations in China allowed to commemorate the violent suppression by military troops of pupil protesters demanding higher democracy in Beijing’s Tiananmen Sq. on June 4, 1989. Tons of, if not 1000’s, have been killed.
The ban is seen as a part of a transfer to snuff out political dissent and an indication that Hong Kong is dropping its freedoms as Beijing tightens its grip over the semi-autonomous Chinese language metropolis.
The vigil organizers, the Hong Kong Alliance in Assist of Patriotic Democratic Actions of China, disbanded final yr after lots of its leaders have been arrested on suspicion of violating the nationwide safety regulation, which was imposed following large pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Authorities have been utilizing the regulation to crack down on the opposition, with over 150 folks arrested on suspicion of offences that embrace subversion, secession, terrorism and overseas collusion to intervene within the metropolis’s affairs.
Residents of Hong Kong are more and more anxious about dropping their autonomy amidst additional crackdowns from China – together with the dismantling of monuments commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Sq. bloodbath.
Authorities have cited dangers from the coronavirus for banning the general public commemoration over the previous three years. Critics say the pandemic is used as an excuse to infringe on the fitting to assemble.
A authorities assertion Friday stated that components of Victoria Park, which historically served because the venue for the candlelight vigil, will probably be closed as it might be used for “unlawful actions.”
The transfer was to “forestall any unauthorized assemblies” within the park and to scale back the potential for COVID-19 unfold.
Earlier within the week, a police superintendent warned that anybody who gathered in a bunch “on the similar place, with the identical time and with a standard objective to precise sure views” might be thought-about a part of an unauthorized meeting.
‘The folks is not going to neglect’
Regardless of the ban, some residents wore black in a silent present of help, and a few even carried bouquets of flowers, held candles or turned on the flashlight on their cellphones.
“In the present day, that is to commemorate June 4th. Yearly I’ve to do it,” stated Man Yuen, who appeared in a black T-shirt with the phrases “the folks is not going to neglect” whereas strolling down the streets carrying an unlit candle.
Police stopped and searched a number of folks, a few of whom have been wearing black. It’s unclear if any arrests have been made.
“I’m disillusioned as a result of though nobody organized any commemoration occasion, the authorities are already on excessive alert,” stated Donald Tam, who was procuring within the Causeway Bay district, the place the park is positioned.
For the reason that British handed over Hong Kong to China in 1997, the town has been ruled underneath a “one nation, two techniques” framework that promised it liberties not discovered on the mainland, together with freedom of speech and meeting. It meant Hong Kong and close by Macao, the opposite semi-autonomous territory, have been allowed to commemorate the 1989 crackdown.
Elsewhere in China, key phrases comparable to “Tiananmen bloodbath” and “June 4” are strictly censored on-line, and persons are not allowed to publicly mark the occasion.
Vigils in Taiwan
Outdoors China, vigils have been held to recollect the Tiananmen victims.
In Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by Beijing as a part of its territory, a whole lot took half within the vigil. The Overseas Ministry wrote on Fb that “when this time of yr comes round, there’s a lot one cannot say, quite a bit one cannot write, and quite a bit one cannot even search for on the web.”
The publish inspired Chinese language residents who use a VPN to entry Fb, which is blocked in China, and seek for info on the Tiananmen Sq. bloodbath “to see what their nation is hiding from them.”
“Taiwan has been commemorating the June 4 bloodbath earlier than Hong Kong did, and every place (in the remainder of the world) that holds this occasion interprets it in its personal methods,” stated Taiwan democracy activist Lee Ming-che. “We should concentrate on China’s threats and defend Taiwan’s values of democracy, human rights, and freedom.”
Graduate pupil Joanna Chen stated that commemorating the June 4 bloodbath is vital as a result of Taiwan is likely one of the few locations in Better China to commemorate such an occasion publicly.
“We should remind the Taiwanese those that democracy shouldn’t be taken without any consideration,” she stated.
