Hong Kong sees arrests, threats of jail ahead of banned Tiananmen vigil
By Shibani Mahtani and Theodora Yu,
Lam Yik Reuters
HONG KONG — Police arrested two people on Friday, including a prominent activist, and placed thousands of officers on standby as they sought to dissuade Hong Kong residents from observing the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre that took place 32 years ago in Beijing.
The arrests, which followed weeks of warnings against participation in the annual commemoration, reflect China’s desire to snuff out any remnants of dissent in the former British colony, however mild or peaceful.
[In a changing Hong Kong, activists fight to keep alive memory of Tiananmen massacre]
Authorities are trying to put an end to the vigil, which for decades drew tens of thousands to Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on June 4 and provided a point of difference with mainland China, where the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators has been scrubbed from history and censored. Attendees would light a candle, illuminating the park in a powerful symbol of the city’s enduring protest culture.
Vincent Yu
AP
A view of Hong Kong’s Victoria Park. For decades people gathered there to honor victims of the Chinese government’s massacre of students and others at Tiananmen Square, but authorities have now banned the commemoration.
Under Beijing’s tightened control, however, differences between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland are waning. Police have banned Friday’s vigil — ostensibly, like last year, because of the coronavirus, though the city hasn’t recorded a local case in at least two weeks. Other large-scale events such as art fairs have been permitted, and nightclubs are filled with partygoers on weekends.
Last year, despite the ban, thousands of people gathered at the park to light a candle for those killed at Tiananmen. There is no official death toll, but estimates range from several hundred to more than 10,000.
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Authorities in Hong Kong this year appear intent on preventing a repeat of such scenes of defiance. Ahead of June 4, police sources told local media outlets that they would be deploying a huge number of officers across the city and around the park. The number jumped from 3,000 officers to 7,000 the day before the banned vigil. Courts have jailed protest leaders who took part in the banned vigil last year.
The police on Thursday warned that anyone who attended could be jailed for up to five years, adding that holding the event “will pose considerable threats to the public health and lives.”
Early Friday, officers arrested Chow Hang-tung, a barrister and activist who is part of the group that organizes the yearly vigil. Chow is among the few leading activists who is not already in jail; the 36-year-old and had said before her arrest that she planned to hold a candle alone to keep the memory of the Tiananmen massacre alive. Police also arrested a 20-year-old delivery man, alleging both he and Chow were publicizing and promoting the banned vigil.
“They are using scare tactics to try to intimidate people,” Chow said in an interview ahead of her arrest. “I think the government is actually the one who is afraid of the power symbolized by the candlelight vigil.”
Xinqi Su
AFP/Getty Images
Chow Hang-tung, left, a leader of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, is led away by plainclothes police officers after being detained in Hong Kong on Friday.
For those in Hong Kong, preserving the memory of June 4 is about more than just the victims lost there or their call for a more democratic China. The territory has come under an onslaught from Beijing in the wake of 2019 anti-government protests, most dramatically after the imposition of a national security law which criminalizes dissent with up to life in prison. As authorities rewrite Hong Kong’s history, erasing its long-standing democratic aspirations and emphasizing ties with the Chinese Communist Party, many here see the act of remembering June 4 as part of a broader effort to resist and honor the spirit of their city amid the suppression.
Despite the risks and warnings, small groups of people are continuing to publicly commemorate the Tiananmen massacre — most notably, a group of churches which plan to hold special masses on Friday evening. Thousands have pledged to show up, even those who are not Catholic.
A 32-year-old who gave only his last name, So, for fear of repercussions said he will attend the mass at Holy Cross church, though he has never been baptized.
“I feel disappointed, discouraged and very angry” at the government, said So. “I have to participate because of my conscience.”
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