Amid a heavy police presence and the arrests of several prominent pro-democracy activists, some Hongkongers attempted to mark the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown at Victoria Park, where the city’s annual candlelight vigils were once held, albeit on a more private scale than seen in the past.
Six of the football pitches in the park were occupied by a carnival, organised by pro-Beijing groups. Organisers said the purpose of the event was to celebrate the July 1 anniversary of the city’s Handover to China.
The Tiananmen crackdown occurred on June 4, 1989, ending months of student-led demonstrations in China. It is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People’s Liberation Army dispersed protesters in Beijing.
Since 2020, the authorities have denied permission for the candlelit gathering citing Covid-19, whilst the organising group – the Alliance – disbanded in 2021 in light of the national security law. Top officials have not said whether mourning the Tiananmen dead is illegal, however, a number of arrests were made on Saturday, with several more prominent pro-democracy figures being apprehended by police in Causeway Bay on Sunday.
‘Like performance art’
A care worker outside Victoria Park who gave her surname as Si told HKFP on Sunday that she felt very angry. She said she used to join the candlelight vigils every year but did not know what she could do to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown this year, apart from wearing a black T-shirt and holding keychains “carrying messages” as she walked around the perimeter of Victoria Park.
“It’s subtle, but it’s like performance art. The police kept looking at me but they have not stopped and checked me yet,” Si, who appeared to be in her 60s, said. The keychains on her bag read “Don’t get used to it” and “Nobody talked about such a big incident” in Chinese characters.
“It’s a sad day. It makes me angry to see Victoria Park sing and dance peacefully. Today’s Hong Kong is absurd but people don’t dare say anything, “ Si said, adding that she did not have any plans to leave. “We just try to live as long as we can and witness everything.”
A carnival hosted by 26 pro-Beijing organisations took over part of Causeway Bay’s Victoria Park on Saturday and Sunday. It hosted singing and dancing performances, including one by pro-government artist, Maria Cordero, who performed Brave Chinese on the stage at around 7pm.
In the past, the song was performed at a concert in May 1989 in support of the pro-democracy movement in mainland China. Cordero was one of the singers who performed in the concert.
A 70-year-old woman named Chan told HKFP that she had taken part in Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen crackdown vigils “for many years.”
Chan, wearing a black top and yellow mask, was stopped and searched by police in the middle of an interview with HKFP. The officers let her go after inspecting her bag.
She said she felt pro-democracy Hongkongers were being “suppressed,” with the site of the yearly vigils overtaken by a carnival. “All we want is democracy and freedom,” Chan said, adding that she had “shivered” when she had passed police.
Another woman, who gave her name as Tsang, sat on a bench in Victoria Park reading May 35, a play by Candace Chong about the parents of those who died during the crackdown. The title refers to the date of the crackdown, and has been used to evade censors in mainland China.
She told HKFP that she was reading the book as an act of commemoration. “They don’t let us light candles, ” she said, adding that she wanted to think about the Tiananmen crackdown to see if there was anything Hong Kong could take as a reference from this incident.
HKFP also spoke to a man, 30, with the surname Mok, who was stopped and searched by the police on a pedestrian bridge linking Victoria Park to Hong Kong’s Central Library, where he had been reading books.
He told HKFP that he still wanted to walk around at Victoria Park to commemorate the Tiananmen crackdown even after being stopped and searched. He said he had attended the candlelight vigil every year since he was in secondary school. Last year, when there were no official commemorations, he went to the park for a walk.
“It is a habit. Every year I went to commemorate and this is represents my persistence,” he said.
In Victoria Park later on Sunday evening, a Polish exchange student took the knee and lit a candle. He was immediately charged at by police officers, who searched him before letting him go.
Filip Kamer, 22, who is studying China studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said he had gone to the park to pray. He told HKFP that police had told him “not to do it again.” When asked what “it” referred to, he said they meant lighting a candle in the park.
Asked if he had been afraid, he said: “In Poland, I’m never afraid. Today, I learnt that Hong Kong is just a little different.”
‘I’m not political’
At around 7.30pm, a lot of people were in Victoria Park, buying snacks from different provinces in mainland China and watching performances.
At the fair, a couple with their five-year-old son who gave their name as Yeung told HKFP that they had not planned to come to this event, but had just finished swimming at a pool nearby and decided to check it out when they walked past.
“We bought some food. It’s quite cheap. We bought some meatballs,” the father said.
His son said the candied strawberries he was eating were “very delicious.”
When asked if he was aware that this was the first Tiananmen crackdown anniversary since the lifting of Covid rules, Yeung said he “hadn’t really paid attention.”
He added that he had never attended the vigils in the past.
Also at the carnival were the Lees. The couple, who stood near the stage, said they were enjoying the performance and had bought a lot of food.
“There’s a large variety of food here that you can’t buy anywhere else in Hong Kong,” Lee said, adding she had spent around HK$1,000.
She said the event “integrated many different Chinese cultures.”
She added that she had never been to the Tiananmen vigils at the park before. “I’m not political. I only care about the country’s prosperity. If the country is prosperous, we are happy.”
At a booth representing a Hubei association, boxes of peanuts, black fungus and lotus root powder were on sale.
“Sales have been quite good,” Lo, who was manning the booth, said. “We have sold out of a lot of things already.”
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