Beijing accused of using pandemic to silence Tiananmen vigil

HONG KONG police yesterday banned a vigil marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown citing the pandemic, the first time the gathering has been halted in three decades.

The candlelight June 4 vigil usually attracts huge crowds and is the only place on Chinese soil where a major commemoration of the anniversary is still allowed. Last year’s gathering was especially large and came just a week before seven months of pro-democracy protests and clashes, sparked initially by a plan to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland.

Police rejected permission for this year’s rally saying it would “constitute a major threat to the life and health of the general public”, according to a letter to organisers obtained by AFP.

Hong Kong has kept the virus mostly in check, with just over 1,000 infections and four deaths. Bars, restaurants, gyms and cinemas have largely reopened. In the last two days, five lo- cal infections were reported, breaking nearly two weeks of zero tallies.

Organisers accused police of using the virus as an excuse to ban the rally.

“I don’t see why the government finds political rallies unacceptable while it gave green lights to resumption of schools and other services ranging from catering, karaoke to swimming pools,” said Lee Cheuk-yan, the chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance which has organised every vigil since 1990. The alliance called on residents to instead light a candle at 8pm on Thursday and observe one minute of silence wherever they can.

Lee vowed that the alliance would continue to chant the slogan “end oneparty rule” during the commemoration despite Beijing’s recently announced plans to impose a law – which will bypass Hong Kong’s legislature – criminalising acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign interference. China says the law is needed to tackle “terrorism” and “separatism”.

Opponents fear it will bring mainland-style political oppression to a business hub supposedly guaranteed freedoms and autonomy for 50 years after its 1997 handover from Britain.

In the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, China’s leaders sent tanks and troops to quell student pro-democracy protests. Hundreds were killed, with some estimates suggesting that more than 1,000 died.

Three decades on, it remains one of the most sensitive subjects in mainland China with any mention censored.

But in Hong Kong the memory of what happened is kept alive. The annual vigils swelled before the 1997 handover and have become especially charged in recent years as many Hong Kongers chafe under Beijing’s rule.