HK extends gathering ban to Tiananmen anniversary

HONG KONG: Hong Kong yesterday extended antivirus measures limiting public gatherings until June 4, a move that means an annual vigil marking the Tiananmen crackdown will likely not take place for the first time in 30 years.

The candlelight vigil usually a racts huge crowds and is the only place on Chinese soil where such 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 exploded onto the city’s streets, sparked initially by a plan to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland.

But the coronavirus looks set to end the tradition this year, a er authorities said they would extend social distancing rules banning more than eight people gathering in public.

“We have always been extending the measure on a 14-day basis. Our general consideration is mainly on public health,” health minister Sophia Chan told reporters.

Organisers said they now expected authorities to refuse permission for the annual vigil, which is usually held in Victoria Park.

“We believe the chance is very slim for our application to be approved,” Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, told AFP.

“If the candlelight vigil is banned, it’s going to be a symbolic moment as we have been doing it for three decades,” he added.

Lee said

Hong Kongers candles in their instead. — AFP he expected might light local parks