Fifteen people were stopped by police on July 1, the 26th anniversary of the Handover, including an 87-year-old man who called for the abolition of the national security law, according to local media. None were arrested.
According to local media, some 6,000 police officers were deployed on Saturday. July 1 has long been a day of protest in Hong Kong, with annual marches organised from Victoria Park, in Causeway Bay. However, the organiser of the event, the Civil Human Rights Front, disbanded in August 2021, and there has been no official demonstration since 2019.
Citing the police, local media reported that 14 men and one woman, aged 17 to 87, were stopped. The octogenarian was reportedly given a verbal warning against causing a public nuisance.
The 87-year-old, who gave his name as Ng to local media, held a placard in Causeway Bay that read: “abolish the national security law, implement International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, release political prisoners, may the Lord look upon Hong Kong”.
Ng, a Catholic, said he has attended July 1 protests since 1989, the year of the Tiananmen crackdown. “Of course its useless, but it’s just for myself – for my conscience,” he told reporters when asked whether he thought protesting would have any real impact.
He was escorted away by plainclothes police officers minutes later. Speaking to HK01, Ng said the officers pulled him aside and took his address and phone number. He said he was asked to get off the street so he would not block traffic at the busy Causeway Bay intersection.
Ng added that he was escorted to Yau Tong MTR station by two officers, and returned to his home in Wong Tai Sin. He also quoted the officers as saying that he could consult the police before holding up certain slogans, to avoid violating the national security law.
Au Yeung Siu-hung, a former member of the Mong Kok “shopping revolution” – a movement that saw pro-democracy protesters pretending to shop in busy districts in 2014 – was among those stopped by police outside the Sogo shopping mall in Causeway Bay. He was wearing a yellow mask with the characters for “universal suffrage” and FDNOL, the initials of 2019 protest slogan “five demands, not one less.”
Dentist Lee Ying-chi was also stopped by police, local media reported. Wearing an orange polo shirt with the Chinese characters “Hong Kong” printed on it, she was stopped, questioned, and escorted to the Causeway Bay MTR station. According to local media reports, she was arrested on suspicion of sedition and disorderly public behaviour on June 3 this year, the eve of the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.
The 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 on protesters in Beijing.
Police said they received a report at 5.15 pm that two Chinese flags had been found with burn marks near Queensway. A warrant has been filed for the arrest of a Chinese national.
HKFP has reached out to the police for comment.
League of Social Democrats warned
Opposition party the League of Social Democrats (LSD) was pressured to cancel a July 1 protest, with vice-chairperson Dickson Chau calling the move an effort to “normalise” stamping out opposition.
VOA reported on Saturday that the LSD had planned a small-scale demonstration outside the government headquarters. Chau said members would speak about the state of freedom of expression and labour importation, as well as “white elephant” infrastructure projects.
He said the party unfortunately had to cancel the demonstration after having faced pressure from “powerful agencies.” “We had a two, three-page statement prepared, but there was nothing we could do. We even had props made,” Chau said.
“It feels like my hands and legs are tied. Even speaking out about environmental issues is a problem, and concern groups for subdivided housing residents have been named,” he said. A full-page Wen Wei Po report recently slammed concern groups including Platform Concerning Subdivided Flats and Alliance Concerning Subdivided Flats for leveraging the housing crunch to “incite citizens’ negative emotions against the government.”
“Back then, we would say ‘don’t touch politics, just deal with livelihood issues.’ But now we can’t even do that without having a background check run on you,” Chau added. He said he hoped to continue with labour rights work: “With the Confederation of Trade Unions gone, along with many other unions, I think this is an area that needs to be filled up. But it’s not easy.”
Last year, LSD announced they would not hold any protest activity on July 1, after some of their volunteers were called in to meet officers from the police National Security Department. The League’s chairwoman Chan Po-ying, wife of detained activist “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, said that national security police had searched her home and the residences of five other members, including Chau.
The year prior, the group put up a banner asking the authorities to free its members who were either jailed or in custody, including Jimmy Sham, Leung, Figo Chan and Avery Ng. It was the first time Hong Kong saw had not seen large-scale demonstrations on July 1, traditionally a day of protest.
Ng, who was released from prison last year, put up a Facebook post on Saturday, asking: “Doesn’t it feel like there’s somewhere you want to go, something you want to do, say, shout, today, and yet there’s a feeling that a malicious power won’t let you go there, or do, speak, or shout those things?”
The post also included the hashtag #HongKongisaBigPrison, and an emoji of a middle finger.
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