Hong Kong has deployed strong security near a major park on the anniversary of the crackdown on Tiananmen Square in China.
Key points:
- Chinese troops opened fire to end student-led riots 33 years ago
- Leader Carrie Lam said any commemoration event will be subject to national security laws
- Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen denounced the “collective memory of June 4 that was systematically erased in Hong Kong”
Authorities warned people not to gather to commemorate China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in the square 33 years ago, while Taiwan denounced efforts to erase memories.
Saturday marked the anniversary of the opening of fire by Chinese troops to end student-led riots in and around Beijing Square.
China has never reported a full death toll, but rights groups and witnesses say the figure could reach thousands.
China’s national security law in Hong Kong punishes acts of subversion with life imprisonment. (Reuters: Tyrone Siu)
“Remembering is resisting,” Chinese human rights lawyer Teng Biao told Reuters from the United States.
“If no one remembers it, the suffering of the people will never stop and the perpetrators will continue their crimes with impunity.”
Chinese authorities have banned any public commemoration of the event on the mainland, and Hong Kong authorities have also cracked down.
In Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, where people had gathered for an annual vigil before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, authorities blocked major parts of the site and warned residents against illegal gatherings.
Soccer fields and basketball courts, which were usually crowded on Saturdays, were empty as hundreds of police officers, some with tracking dogs, patrolled the area.
Suffocating dissent in life imprisonment
City leader Carrie Lam said this week that any event commemorating the 1989 repression killings would be subject to national security laws.
“Everyone is silent because they are afraid of being arrested,” said Victor, 57, a Hong Kong resident who only asked to be identified by his name inside Victoria Park.
China imposed a national security law in Hong Kong in June 2020 that punished acts of subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to life imprisonment.
Since the legislation came into force, people or affiliated organizations have signed up for the delicate date of June 4 and events to mark it.
Activists have been jailed, the alliance that organized the annual vigil has been dissolved, the June 4 Museum has closed its physical location and reopened online.
Two universities removed the Pillar of Shame, a work of art from distressed human torsos, and statues of the Goddess of Democracy from their campuses.
COVID as an excuse?
Hong Kong has banned the annual vigil since 2020, citing coronavirus restrictions.
Some democracy activists accuse the authorities of using these rules to suppress activism, a claim that officials reject.
The current restrictions on COVID-19 allow up to eight people to dine together, although outdoor meetings have a four-person limit.
Last year, police blocked Hong Kong Park to prevent people from gathering to commemorate the anniversary and arrested the organizer of the planned vigil.
In Taiwan, vindicated by China but firmly democratic, where public commemorations are to be held in Taipei on Saturday, President Tsai Ing-wen denounced the “collective memory of June 4 that was systematically erased in Hong Kong. “.
“But we believe that this brute force cannot erase people’s memories,” he posted on his Facebook and Instagram pages. “When democracy is threatened and authoritarianism is spreading around the world, we must stand up for democratic values.”
Taiwan often uses the Tiananmen Square anniversary to criticize China and urge it to do what it did, to Beijing’s repeated annoyance.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the Tiananmen crackdown a “brutal assault.”
“The efforts of these brave people will not be forgotten. Every year, we honor and remember those who defended human rights and fundamental freedoms,” he said in a statement.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, at a routine press conference on Thursday, reiterated Beijing’s line on events.
“The Chinese government has long come to a clear conclusion about the political incident that took place in the late 1980s,” he said.
Reuters
Posted 2 hours, 2 hours ago, Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 10:28 AM, updated 1 hour, 1 hour ago, Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 12:00 PM