The US Consulate in Hong Kong displayed commemorative candles in its windows on its 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown on Thursday, while other diplomatic missions paid tribute with posts on social networks.
Annual movement is often blasted by local and Chinese authoritiesand was quoted by Beijing as “evidence” of foreign intervention in 6300 words”fact sheet.”
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People’s Liberation Army cracked down on protesters around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Hong Kong was once one of the few places on Chinese soil where annual vigils were held to commemorate the people who died in the 1989 coup.
But police banned the rally in Victoria Park for the first time in 2020, citing Covid-19 restrictions, and imposed the same ban the following year.
No official commemoration has been held since the vigil’s organizer, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of China’s Patriotic Democratic Movements, disbanded in September 2021. Its leaders were arrested and are currently on trial.
Currently occupied Victoria Park – historically the site of Hong Kong vigils – is a five-day patriotic carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups.
Diplomatic memorials
Earlier on Thursday, Britain’s embassy in China shared a social media post showing one animation with scenes from the bloody coup. It was shared without comment.
British Consulate in Hong Kong posted a wrap of a mobile held aloft with a burning torch, apparently referring to candlelight vigils.
Washington’s mission in Beijing shared a quote from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declaring: “Those who sacrificed to protect their inalienable rights of free expression and peaceful assembly will one day be vindicated.”
In responseChinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Beijing had “long ago reached a clear conclusion about that political turmoil that happened in the late 1980s.”
The Canadian Consulate in Hong Kong shared a Facebook POSTwhich read: “Today, Canadians honor the memory of all those who lost their lives, were injured or went missing during the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, 1989. Canada stands with the survivors and the families and loved ones who continue to seek accountability.”
Meanwhile, the Australian consulate in Hong Kong common on Facebook a photo of candles and a statement that read: “Today, we stand with communities around the world to remember those who lost their lives in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. Australia remains steadfast in its commitment to protect human rights, including freedom of association, expression and political participation.”
In June 2019, then-leader Carrie Lam said the city’s annual vigils were “proof that Hong Kong is a free country”.
A court in Hong Kong is now in session a historic trial of the Alliance and two vigilante leadersChow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan. They are charged with “inciting subversion” under the national security law, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars.
Another vigilante leader – Albert Ho – pleaded guilty when the trial opened in January.
