Hong Kong Crackdown To Prevent Tiananmen Square Vigil

The annual Hong Kong public vigil for the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre is looking more and more like the original event’s aftermath.

Washington Post:

Police arrested a prominent activist, locked down a city park and placed 7,000 officers on standby as they sought to prevent Hong Kong residents from observing Friday’s anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre that took place 32 years ago in Beijing.

The moves, 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 slaughter of 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.

Under Beijing’s tightened control, however, differences between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland are dissipating. 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 from the crackdown, but estimates range from several hundred to more than 10,000.

Authorities in Hong Kong this year appear intent on preventing a repeat of such defiance. Ahead of June 4, police sources told local media 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.”