'Not just about Tiananmen but also 2019': Hongkongers defying June 4 vigil ban say they are beaten but unbowed

Maria Cheung* had never been to the annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park to remember the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, believing she could always go to the next one.

But on Friday night, she decided it was time to act. After finishing work at 6pm, the fifty-something clerk left her office in Cheung Sha Wan and hopped onto the MTR to head straight to Causeway Bay, clutching a white candle in one hand.

"I used to take things for granted, but now I realise it is important to make a stand," she said.

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Friday evening marked the second time in two years police had banned the annual gathering on public health grounds because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This time, though, there was also the threat of the national security law, as Hongkongers wondered if they risked arrest if they shouted slogans that could be construed as subverting state power, or undermining national sovereignty, or for just showing up and wearing black, the colour of protest.

Police officers stand guard in Causeway Bay after closing part of Victoria Park. Photo: Sam Tsang alt=Police officers stand guard in Causeway Bay after closing part of Victoria Park. Photo: Sam Tsang

Despite the risks, Cheung felt she had to show up to mourn those who died in Beijing, as tanks rolled into the capital on June 4, 1989, to crush a student-led movement that had been fighting for democracy and an end to corruption. Hundreds, possibly more, died in the confrontation.

For others who turned up to show solidarity with the victims, the night's outing was also to mark the first political mass event since Beijing's crackdown on the city after the anti-government protests two years ago.

They showed up in small groups on the fringes of the park - which was under a security lockdown from early afternoon - and in other scattered locations such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Tsuen Wan.

In scenes that evoked the social unrest in 2019, when protesters wore black and chanted slogans, including those calling for independence, pockets of people also wearing the same colours popped up, flashed their phones or held candles, and then melted into the crowd.

Some chanted slogans but, throughout it all, they kept walking and moving to elude arrest by police who turned out in force.

In Mong Kok, a 29-year-old woman in black, who only gave her surname as Li, said the anniversary was different this year because she felt the city's freedoms had been suppressed since 2019.

"Today is not just about Tiananmen Square but about 2019," said Li, who works in the insurance industry.

The last time she protested on the streets was last July, hours after Beijing imposed on Hong Kong the sweeping national security law, which outlaws acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

"This is the first time we have been able to gather and have our voices heard," she said.

While the crowds who turned up were in scattered locations, Li said those who did show up had sent a message: they were beaten but remained unbowed.

"I worry about the future of Hong Kong, but fear more about losing the freedom of speech," she said.

Two women use the lights on their mobile phones as part of a June 4 vigil in Mong Kok. Photo: Edmond So alt=Two women use the lights on their mobile phones as part of a June 4 vigil in Mong Kok. Photo: Edmond So

KK Wong, a 35-year-old woman who held a paper flower and jar of fairy lights near Victoria Park, said she could not help feeling nostalgic when she saw the defiant crowd, though she also conceded the city had changed.

"It's been nearly a year since there were protests or peaceful gatherings. It's a strange atmosphere today," Wong said.

"On one hand it's refreshing to see that people are still determined to wear black and light candles for the June 4 vigil. But I think people out here today are more careful, when police asked people to leave the park, they left. There is some level of fear."

In the absence of a protest venue authorised by police, some decided to take the safer approach to remember the crackdown by attending mass held in seven Catholic churches across the city.

Ellen Pak Ming-fai, a social worker in her 40s, headed to St Benedict Church in Sha Tin with her children, only to find all 360 seats, and ones on the second and third floors, had been taken.

Pak lamented the erosion of freedoms in society. She first attended the commemoration in Victoria Park, then attended the smaller one organised by district councillors last year in light of the vigil ban.

This year, even district councillors found it too sensitive to hold any commemoration activities, she added, so she could only opt for the "low-risk" event in church.

Pak said she did not believe the government would allow June 4 vigils in the future, and Hongkongers would need to "use our own way to carry on the cause".

Altar servers attend mass at St Andrew's Church. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Altar servers attend mass at St Andrew's Church. Photo: Bloomberg

A 36-year-old teacher, surnamed Lau, who attended the Victoria Park vigil for more than 10 years, went to St Andrew's Church in Hang Hau, commemorating the event at a different venue for the first time.

Lau said she chose to attend the mass because it was open to the public but admitted she feared police might go into the church to arrest attendees.

"This is the only place on China's soil that can commemorate the event. We have to guard it well," she said.

On the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, KK, who works in the service industry, sat alone in a black cap, T-shirt and shorts as dozens of police officers stopped and searched a few people also wearing black.

For him, June 4 had always been a bittersweet occasion, as it is also his birthday. Since the time he was a Form Three pupil, he would also associate the day with the crackdown, scenes he still recalled from watching television then.

But this year, it was more painful than before, he said. He dared not go down to Victoria Park and risked arrest and being separated from his wife and 14-year-old daughter on the day he turned 46.

"So many people together is a powerful thing, to show Hongkongers still remember ... We had been doing it for 32 years and it had never been wrong, until now," KK said, as he held back tears.

Despite all the city had gone through, he said, he hoped some day soon, "we will be free to remember" again.

Additional reporting by Jack Lau, Kathleen Magramo and Kanis Leung

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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