Hong Kong’s annual vigil in Victoria Park to commemorate the lives lost during the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing on June 4, 1989 was cancelled for the first time in 30 years due to coronavirus restrictions on social distancing. The Hong Kong police has banned public gatherings of more than eight people until June 18.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China has held annual vigils to mark Beijing’s brutal crackdown on “weeks-long, student-led democracy protests”. Commonly referred to as the June Fourth Incident and sometimes as the ’89 Democracy Movement, it led to the death of between 200 and 10,000 people (this range is due to discrepancies between Chinese government and independent sources). Last year, 180,000 people attended the event.
Despite the event’s cancellation, the Hong Kong police, and indeed Beijing, remain wary. Over 3,000 riot officers were deployed to ensure that the ban was followed after several residents discussed ways to get around the restrictions. For example, the organizers of the event urged the public to participate in an online gathering and to light candles across Hong Kong. They also announced that street booths would be installed to give out candles, with the assistance of opposition lawmakers and district councillors.
Also Read: Xi Jinping Tells Chinese Army to Prepare for War
Moreover, members of the alliance signaled their intent to go ahead with plans to congregate at Victoria Park. They said they will maintain social distancing guidelines by only gathering in groups of eight. The alliance also urged supporters to join them in districts across the city, instead of just in Victoria Park.
Thus, it was no surprise that tens of thousands of people gathered even in the face of this ban, jumping over barricades. At the event, chants of “end one-party rule”,“democracy for China”, “fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong”, and “Hong Kong independence, the only way out” were heard. While the crowd was smaller than in previous years, small candle-light vigils were held across the city.
Members and supporters of the alliance say that the ban is yet another instance of Chinese interference in Hong Kong. In mid-May, pro-democracy and pro-government lawmakers brawled in the parliament over legislation that seeks to ban insulting China’s national anthem, March of the Volunteers. That bill was passed into law yesterday, with 41 votes for and one against, making it a criminal offence for Hong Kongers to insult the Chinese national anthem. In addition, in late May, China announced its intention to pass a legislation that would “treason, secession, sedition, and subversion” in Hong Kong.
Also Read: Pro-Democracy Lawmakers in Hong Kong Dragged out of Legislative Council Over New Law
The proposed law is driven in part by a desire to “improve” Hong Kong’s national security, after a serious of often violent protests over the last few years. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the law is necessary to guard against increasing “foreign meddling”, which China argues has infringed upon its national security. Thus, China wishes to strengthen the “legal system”, the “rule of law”, and enforcement mechanisms to give itself greater control over the former British colony.
In accordance with this, the “draft decision” says, “When needed, relevant national security organs of the Central People’s Government will set up agencies in Hong Kong to fulfil relevant duties to safeguard national security in accordance with the law.” This essentially paves the way for China to set up law enforcement agencies which run parallel to–and supersede–the city’s existing security forces. In essence, this strips yet another layer of autonomy from Hong Kong.
In response, thousands of protestors congregated in the Causeway Bay and c districts, decrying a law that they feel takes away their freedoms and silences opposition to Chinese control. In order to disperse crowds, police fired tear gas and water cannon at protestors, and arrested 396 people.
The proposed new law garnered heavy international criticism. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it subverts the “will of the people” and represents a “death knell” for Hong Kong’s “high degree of autonomy, democratic institutions, and civil liberties”.
Also Read: US No Longer Considers Hong Kong Autonomous From China
His sentiments were echoed in a joint statement by UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne, who expressed their “deep concern” at the proposed new security law. Raab also referenced the “legally binding Joint Declaration, signed by the China and the UK”, which stipulates that Hong Kong must continue to enjoy a “high degree of autonomy”, and “rights and freedoms, including those of the person, of the press, of assembly, of association and others”.
In addition, in an op-ed for The Times of London, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson highlighted how 350,000 Hong Kongers hold British National Overseas passports and how a further 2.5 million are “eligible to apply for them”. He said that these passports “allow visa-free access to the United Kingdom for up to six months”. More saliently, though, he said, “If China imposes its national security law, the British government will change our immigration rules and allow any holder of these passports from Hong Kong to come to the UK for a renewable period of 12 months and be given further immigration rights, including the right to work, which could place them on a route to citizenship.”
Amid rising international criticism and protests in Hong Kong, it remains to be seen how China will respond. For now, it has said “no external interference will be tolerated”, and hit back at the hypocrisy and double standards of actors like the US commenting on democratic and human rights in Hong Kong amid unrest in their own countries. However, given that the national anthem bill has now been passed into law, and that the proposed new security law is likely next, then the ferocity of China’s response to both domestic and international dissent is only sure to rise.
Also Read: China Rebukes International Criticism of Proposed New Security Law in Hong Kong