From China Digital Times
This Wednesday, June 4 marks the 36th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. Hongkongers had for decades commemorated the date with a large-scale vigil at Victoria Park, until the 2020 National Security Law made such public demonstrations subject to harsh judicial punishment. In the lead-up to this year’s anniversary, much like last year, Hong Kong authorities continued to restrict opportunities for publicly observing the date.
On Tuesday, reporters asked Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee whether on June 4 residents could legally light candles or even show up to Causeway Bay, the area in which Victoria Park is located. Lee made no direct comment but stated, “Any activities held on any date must comply with the law.” Local media reported that people who were stopped outside Victoria Park on June 4 last year were called by the city’s police ahead of this year’s anniversary and asked about their plans. On Tuesday, performance artist Chan Mei-tung was stopped and searched by planclothes police in Causeway Bay while standing in front of a store chewing gum, and was later released. On that same date in 2022 and 2023, she was arrested outside the same store while peeling potatoes. Between 2020 and 2024, 82 people in Hong Kong were arrested for commemorating the Tiananmen Massacre around its anniversary, and among them 43 people were convicted and sentenced to a total of over 20 years in prison, according to a tally by Brian Kern.
Hong Kong media also recently reported that the owner of the famous white sportscar whose license plate read “US 8964” said that over the past year his family had been harassed and threatened by unknown persons, leading him to hold a “farewell gathering” for the car and arrange to have it transported outside of the city.
The erasure of public references to June 4 has extended into Hong Kong’s literary sphere, as well. Natalie Wong from the South China Morning Post reported that books about the Tiananmen Massacre have become increasingly scarce in the city’s public libraries and independent bookshops, in part due to self-censorship:
None of the [149 different books on the topic of the Tiananmen Massacre that were previously in stock] are available on the public library’s online catalogue, according to a recent search. In a reply to the Post, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department said public libraries reviewed and withdrew materials to ensure “their compliance with the laws of Hong Kong”.
[…] Hong Kong’s bookshop market is dominated by chains, including a few controlled by Beijing’s liaison office, alongside about 20 independent bookshops. The Post surveyed 10 of these and found that a few Chinese titles about the crackdown were available in two independent shops and at two sellers that mainly dealt in second-hand books. […] Due to the sensitivity of the matter, these bookshops have not been named.
“There has been a prevalent atmosphere of self-censorship driven by fear of repercussions,” Leticia Wong Man-huen, who owns Hunter Bookstore in Sham Shui Po, said. “No one dares to test where the red line exists.”
[…] Among the independent bookshops the Post visited, most did not sell titles about the event. One bookseller said there had been a lack of new publications since the Beijing-imposed national security law came into effect in 2020.
“We no longer sell these books, mainly because we have none to sell,” said the bookseller who preferred to remain anonymous. “The chilling effect is another issue.” [Source]
Despite these setbacks, some Hongkongers still found small ways to highlight the anniversary. Barrister-activist Chow Hang-tung announced that she would launch a 36-hour hunger strike in prison, where she has been detained since September 2021 pending trial after being charged with incitement to subversion under the national security law. This is the third year in a row that Chow has planned a hunger strike in prison. She is the former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen vigils. Elsewhere, the Hong Kong Free Press reported that small shops have also managed to subtly mark the date with candles:
Heung Together, a shop in Sham Shui Po selling incense and fragrances, published a post on Instagram, saying that it was selling tea candles for “$6.4.”
Tea candles have “multiple uses,” the post on Monday read, including for mourning victims, serving as a light source during blackouts, and warming up teapots.
[…] AsOne, a shop owned by another ex-district councillor, Derek Chu, posted on Instagram on Monday that it would display candles on June 4 to “mourn the students and citizens who sacrificed themselves for the pro-democracy movement.” [Source]