A patriotic carnival organised by pro-Beijing groups in Hong Kong continued to attract visitors to Victoria Park on Tuesday, the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, with police guarding the venue that was once the site of the city’s annual vigils to mourn the incident.
At 5 pm on Tuesday, police officers in groups were patrolling the park in Causeway Bay, as visitors lined up to enter the market that sold specialities from provinces such as Anhui, Guangxi, and Inner Mongolia in mainland China.
The “Hometown Market,” which features over 200 booths by 28 clan organisations, opened to the public on Saturday and will run until Wednesday.
It is the second consecutive year that the carnival was held in the park where Hongkongers used to gather for annual candlelight vigils that commemorated those who died when China’s People’s Liberation Army dispersed protesters in Beijing on June 4, 1989. The number of those who died is not known, but it is believed hundreds, if not thousands, perished during the crackdown.
Visitors were seen gradually leaving the carnival in Victoria Park at about 8.30 pm with bags, or in some cases suitcases, filled with items. But a local resident, who said she had been living near the park for more than four decades said nothing in the carnival had caught her eye and she had not bought anything.
Asked about the candlelight vigils held there in the past, the woman who gave her surname as Wong, declined to comment. “You know we cannot say anything. We cannot feel anything, we have been all but numb,” Wong told HKFP in Cantonese.
Another visitor with the surname Lee said the market featured specialities from all across China and she thought that was convenient. She added that she had never attended the vigils.
“This is better as people feel calm and safe,” Lee said of the heavy police presence surrounding the park.
At least four other visitors declined to respond to HKFP’s questions about past Tiananmen crackdown commemorations.
An HKFP reporter was interrupted on Sunday as he was interviewing visitors and volunteers at the event by a carnival employee, who said HKFP was not on a pre-registered media list.
Multiple attempts to register with the carnival failed, as the employee said pre-registration was closed and organisers had to ensure that journalists would not interfere with the carnival.
“Perhaps you could visit next year,” the member of staff, who declined to give his name, told HKFP.
The carnival, which occupied four of Victoria Park’s six football courts, was packed on Sunday as visitors enjoyed a rare sunny day after weeks of poor weather. Former chief executive Carrie Lam made a brief appearance, according to local media, but did not respond to reporters’ questions.
Families took their children to a lawn in the park where makeshift entertainment facilities had been set up.
All visitors were required to go through a security check before they were granted entry to the carnival, which cost HK$5.
They were reminded by a large sign that no banners, posters, or placards that contained “discriminatory, religious, or political propaganda” were allowed into the event.
The sign also said visitors must comply with national security legislations, including the Beijing-imposed security law and the domestic Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, as well as the National Anthem Ordinance and the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance.
Hong Kong used to be one of the few places on Chinese soil where annual vigils were held to commemorate the people who died in the 1989 crackdown. But police banned the annual gathering at Victoria Park for the first time in 2020 citing Covid-19 restrictions, and no official commemoration has been held since.
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown since Hong Kong enacted a homegrown security law, commonly known as Article 23.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised the city’s annual Tiananmen crackdown vigils, disbanded in September 2021 after its leaders were arrested under the national security law. Former Alliance vice-chair Chow Hang-tung, was among eight people arrested since last Tuesday over “seditious” social media posts relating to the crackdown under Article 23.
Additional reporting: Kelly Ho
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