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HK COPS NAB ORGANIZER OF TIANANMEN VIGIL ON MASSACRE’S ANNIVERSARY
- By The Financial District
- Jun 4, 2021
- 2 min read
Hong Kong police on Friday, June 4, arrested activist Chow Hang Tung, vice-chairwoman of the group which organizes annual vigils for the victims of China’s 1989 Tiananmen crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, two of her colleagues said, Pak Yiu and Jessie Pang reported for Reuters.
The arrest comes as thousands of police are expected to patrol the city's streets to prevent people from gathering to commemorate the June 4 crackdown, in what activists say is a sign of a swift authoritarian turn in Hong Kong.
The heightened vigilance from authorities was a marked departure from Hong Kong's cherished freedoms of speech and assembly, bringing the global financial hub closer in line with mainland China's strict controls on society, they say.
The arrest comes as thousands of police are expected to patrol the city's streets to prevent people from gathering to commemorate the June 4 crackdown, in what activists say is a sign of a swift authoritarian turn in Hong Kong.
The heightened vigilance from authorities was a marked departure from Hong Kong's cherished freedoms of speech and assembly, bringing the global financial hub closer in line with mainland China's strict controls on society, they say.
The former British colony promised a high degree of autonomy from Beijing upon its return to Chinese rule in 1997, has traditionally held the world's largest vigil for the Tiananmen victims.
Chow was arrested for promoting an unauthorized assembly, Chiu Yan Loy, Executive Member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, told Reuters in a text message.
"She only wanted to go to Victoria Park, light a candle and commemorate," Chiu said, adding he believed the arrest was meant to strike fear into those planning to attend the vigil.
Chow, 36, told Reuters this week before her arrest that June 4 was a test for Hong Kong “of whether we can defend our bottom line of morality. As long as they haven't said candles are illegal, we will light a candle," she said.
The Alliance's chairman Lee Cheuk-yan is in jail for an illegal assembly. Police have banned the vigil for the second year in a row, citing the coronavirus. It did not say whether commemorating Tiananmen would breach a sweeping national security law China imposed in 2020 on its most restive city.
City leader Carrie Lam has not commented on commemorations, saying that citizens must respect the law, as well as the Communist Party, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. June 4 commemorations are banned in mainland China.
