Western consulates in Hong Kong ignore Beijing appeal not to openly comment on Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary
- Reminders by Chinese foreign ministry office sent out in recent days, including to top diplomats of European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier accused Beijing of censorship over city authorities’ decision to close off parts of former vigil site Victoria Park
Several Western consulates in Hong Kong ignored Beijing’s appeal not to openly comment on the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, while some residents chose to mark the occasion in a low-key manner on Saturday evening following a ban on an annual vigil.
The Chinese foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong also traded barbs with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with the city once again a battleground amid flaring geopolitical tensions.
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June 4th Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary quiet again in Hong Kong
The office sent out reminders in recent days to a list of consulates in Hong Kong, including to top diplomats from the UK and the European Union, according to an envoy based in the city.
“The office asked us not to tweet/retweet or publicly say something about June 4,” the European diplomat told the Post on Saturday.
Some Hong Kong-based diplomats said it was the first time the office had made such an appeal to consulates of Western countries.
By late afternoon, the US, Canadian and Australian consulates had posted messages to mark the June 4 crackdown in Beijing 33 years ago, while the EU’s office in Hong Kong and some of the bloc’s member states retweeted messages from Brussels.
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British Consul General Brian Davidson said in a statement he was an eyewitness of the crackdown. “I reflect as well as remember,” he said.
In Causeway Bay, where crowds used to gather in Victoria Park for an annual candlelight vigil, police stepped up security and searched people carrying floral tributes.
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Hong Kong police cordon off parts of Victoria Park ahead of June 4 anniversary
Among those stopped were residents clad in black, the colour adopted by anti-government protesters in 2019, a former opposition district councillor holding a box containing a toy tank, and Chiu Yan-loy, an ex-member of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised the vigil in the past.
“I wasn’t even heading towards Victoria Park. I was leaving through Causeway Bay MTR station when they pulled me aside,” Chiu, who was holding flowers at the time, said.
Roadblocks were also set up near the park, which was largely cordoned off by the authorities citing concerns over “unlawful assemblies”. Police declared the park an “operational zone” at 7.30pm, pushing everyone out of the location where the vigil traditionally started at 8pm.
Items and signs sprang up at various corners of the city, including tiny flameless candles and stickers with drawings of a tank, while many also took to social media to repost pictures of them attending past events. A sports car with a “US 8964” registration plate passed the park.
Activist group the League of Social Democrats said a member, Lau Shan-ching, was arrested for uttering seditious words. He was wearing a T-shirt with a drawing of the late Li Wangyang, a dissident who spent 22 years in prison after taking part in the June 4 protest.
“The struggle for democracy and freedom continues to echo in Hong Kong, where the annual vigil to commemorate the massacre in Tiananmen Square was banned by the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong authorities in an attempt to suppress the memories of that day,” Blinken said in a statement.
“While many are no longer able to speak up themselves, we and many around the world continue to stand up on their behalf and support their peaceful efforts to promote democracy and the rights of individuals.”
Blinken said his country would “continue to speak out and promote accountability for [China’s] atrocities and human rights abuses, including those in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet”.
Beijing’s foreign ministry commissioner’s office in Hong Kong fired back on Saturday, urging the United States to “immediately stop the deceptive political stunt”.
Parts of Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to close on June 4 after man held over online threats
Expressing its “resolute objection and rigorous condemnation”, the office pointed to incidents of school shootings in the US, casualties resulting from the country’s Covid-19 response, and the death of George Floyd, a black man who was subdued by police in 2020. Floyd’s death sparked racial tensions and protests against police brutality.
The office accused the US of claiming the “moral high ground” while failing to protect the lives of its own citizens.
“We urge a few US politicians to realise the situation and respect China’s sovereignty … and to stop interfering with China’s internal affairs as well as Hong Kong’s affairs,” it said.
In Causeway Bay, a resident in his 60s surnamed Lau was among those searched by police. He wore a black T-shirt and carried a white flower.
He said police had warned him that being alone could possibly contravene offences including those related to unauthorised assemblies, while the flower could incite people to participate in unlawful assemblies.
“I am here today because I would like to see if Hongkongers have forgotten [the June 4 crackdown],” Lau said, adding he had taken part in the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park since 1990.
“Having the assembly banned proved that the dictatorship is afraid of the people’s voice. Holding a flower shows my determination to strive for democracy.”
Another resident surnamed Ching tried to get to the park’s football pitches, location of the vigil over the years, but in vain. Ching said police officers told him to leave the park immediately, and warned he could get arrested.
“I don’t understand why an ordinary Hongkonger cannot come to Victoria Park to commemorate … I have done nothing wrong,” he said.
The US consulate posted on its Facebook page Blinken’s statement, with a photo of a candle.
EU foreign affairs and security policy spokeswoman Nabila Massarli wrote on Twitter that Beijing’s “violent suppression” 33 years ago “shook the world”.
“The EU always stands in solidarity with those who peacefully defend freedom and human rights across the globe,” she wrote, with the message retweeted by the EU office in Hong Kong, the Netherlands consulate and the French and Finnish consuls, among others.
The Canadian consulate posted on its Facebook page a photo of a past vigil and wrote: “Today, Canada joins Hong Kong and the international community in solemn remembrance of the tragic events of June 4, 1989, when peaceful demonstrators were violently suppressed in and around Tiananmen Square.
“Assembling peacefully is a human right, Canada stands with all those prevented from exercising their rights.”
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The Australian consulate posted a photo of candles along with the message: “We continue to stand for every person’s right to freedom of expression, association, political participation and religion or belief.”
The Polish consulate shared an infographic on its Facebook page that it was the “biggest candle producer in the European Union”, making almost 40 per cent of the total, in an apparent nod to the anniversary. Underneath the post were more than 100 comments of people posting photos of candles.
Can Hongkongers still hold June 4 commemorative events?
For the past three decades, the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park had been the only large-scale commemoration of the crackdown on Chinese soil, drawing hundreds of thousands of mourners. But the event was banned from 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Uncertainty over the vigil’s future emerged after Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong in the same year, prohibiting acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
The vigil organiser disbanded in September last year after being targeted by law enforcement. Three former leaders of the group, Albert Ho Chun-yan, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, are in custody and awaiting trial over allegations of inciting subversion under the security law.
Over the past year, universities have removed symbols of commemoration, including most notably the Pillar of Shame, an eight-metre sculpture by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt which used to sit in the University of Hong Kong.
Some Catholic churches decided to scrap their commemorative mass for the first time, as mourning sessions take greater presence overseas. Mass gatherings and seminars are being planned and led by Hongkongers, who left the city following the imposition of the national security law, in Britain, Prague, the US and Taiwan.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced plans on Friday to lock down large parts of Victoria Park, pointing to calls by some people “to incite the participation of unauthorised assemblies” there and in nearby areas.
Dickson Chau Ka-faat, vice-chairman of the League of Social Democrats, said he planned to hold a silent protest with two others for a few minutes. But Chau said police told them to leave.
“This is one of the ways we choose to stand there silently and protest against how the freedom of speech and expression is suppressed in Hong Kong,” said Chau, who wore a white mask with a cross taped on it to symbolise not being able to speak freely.
“The landscape on June 4 has drastically changed over the past one or two years. I think it’s still important to come out and tell people we won’t forget.”
Asked if he was worried about getting arrested, he said: “Just existing here in Hong Kong and speaking freely on behalf of your real mind, it is possible you may get jailed.”
Additional reporting by Chris Lau and Gary Cheung
