Remembering Tiananmen banned while many languish in prison
On the eve of the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, Hong Kong authorities have sealed off Victoria Park again, once the venue for a memorial vigil for the victims until 2019. Meanwhile, the CHRD released a list of 32 people detained for refusing to be silent about those events, including six in mainland China who were direct participants in the events of 1989.
Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) – On the eve of 4 June, the sensitive anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre of students in Beijing, police are putting on a massive show of force in and around Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, the place where human rights groups held annual vigils to commemorate the crackdown.
In front of the Sogo department store, plainclothes officers stopped and searched performance artist Chan Mei-tung who was caught openly chewing gum. In 2022, on the anniversary, she was arrested for “disorderly conduct” on the eve of 4 June, for standing outside Sogo peeling potatoes.
In lieu of the candlelight vigil held in memory of the people mowed down by Chinese troops in the Chinese capital, the authorities are holding for the third year a food carnival in Victoria Park, until 5 June. Stalls run by pro-Beijing groups are selling food, while the (few) visitors have fun with virtual reality headsets and robots.
Speaking at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said that endangering national security is a serious offence, and ominously warned that “any activity on any day” must abide by the law and law enforcement will take “resolute and stringent” action if need be.
For their part, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) released a non-exhaustive list of 32 people from the 1989 generation and later who remain unjustly detained for their human rights work, including commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre and seeking justice for its thousands of victims.
“Not only have Chinese officials enjoyed total impunity for their 1989 crimes, they also continue to silence defenders who took part in the 1989 protests and tributes to the victims,” said Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director of CHRD. “But peaceful speech and remembrances are not crimes – these people should be released immediately,” she added.
“Decades of weak international responses to the Tiananmen Massacre emboldened Chinese leaders to commit more and worse human rights crimes, from Beijing to Hong Kong to the Uyghur region,” Richardson said. “Democracies should draw inspiration from the victims and survivors of Tiananmen and pursue investigations into those widespread, systematic violations.”
The 32 people in prison include all six activists who directly participated in the 1989 protests and were then rearrested for continuing their activities in defence of human rights and democracy: Uyghur activist Zhao Haitong, China Democracy Party representative Lü Gengsong, Guangdong activist Guo Feixiong, artist and Falun Gong practitioner Xu Na, writer and activist from Hangzhou Xu Guang, and activist and former teacher Zhang Zhongshun.
In mainland China, 13 people are serving prison sentences, in pre-trial detention, or forcibly disappeared for speaking out about Tiananmen.
Finally, the last 13 are activists in Hong Kong, where the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre was always remembered with a vigil in Victoria Park until the 2020 crackdown.
They include Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho, who, after four years of pre-trial detention, are still waiting for their time in court, accused of organising the June 4 rally. If found guilty, they might get life in prison under the national security law.
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