Thirty five years have passed since the Tiananmen crackdown occurred in 1989. Hong Kong, which for 30 years was one of the only places on Chinese soil to host large-scale commemorations that marked the incident, has seen its candlelight vigils snuffed out following Covid curbs and the enactment of a Beijing-imposed security law.
However, cities around the world held their own vigils, where people lit candles and sung protest songs to remember the hundreds, perhaps thousands, who died when the People’s Liberation Army cracked down on protesters in Beijing on June 4, 1989, and the changes that have happened in Hong Kong more recently. In the early days of June this year, assemblies were held in the US, the UK, Taiwan, and Canada, among other places.
While officials in Hong Kong have not directly responded to whether commemorating the Tiananmen crackdown in public is illegal, the city’s leader John Lee on Tuesday warned against troublemakers ‘hijacking’ commemorations of the crackdown, and eight people were arrested over sedition linked to posting content online “concerning a sensitive date” ahead of the anniversary.
London, UK
On June 4, over 300 people joined an assembly in front of the Chinese Embassy in Britain to share and hear memories of the crackdown that took place 35 years ago, international media reported.
The assembly was hosted by Shao Jiang – one of the student leaders of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, who now lives in London in exile.
In a speech delivered during the assembly, Shao said people should remember that not only students joined the protests, but workers, farmers, media people, and even people working in the government, saying the movement had “a scale unprecedented in the history of the Chinese Communist Party. “
Another assembly was also hosted in London’s Parliament Square on Sunday, two days prior to the anniversary, overseas media outlets reported. Several groups collaborated to organise the assembly, including Amnesty International, Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor – a group founded by Hongkongers in the UK – and China Deviant, a group established by overseas Chinese youth following China’s Covid-19 protests.
In 2009, Lit Ming-wai, a physiotherapist, founded the group Stage 64 and produced plays showcasing the history and stories of the Tiananmen crackdown in Hong Kong.
Now living in the UK, Lit produced the London premiere of May 35th, a play that follows two parents as they mourn their son’s death following the crackdown, ahead of the anniversary. The title of the production is a subtle nod to the date of the Tiananmen crackdown, and it was the first time it had been put on in English, foreign media reported.
Taipei, Taiwan
In Taipei’s Liberty Square, an assembly was held on Tuesday evening. Approximately 6,000 people attended the assembly, HK01 reported, citing the organisers.
The event was co-organised by around 24 Taiwanese civil society groups, with guest speakers sharing their memories of the crackdown and speeches delivered by the groups’ representatives.
Attendees observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the crackdown.
On Tuesday, Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching-te said that the memory of Beijing’s deadly crackdown at Tiananmen Square “will not disappear in the torrent of history”, in a post marking the incident’s 35th anniversary.
Washington DC, US
Around 200 people gathered near the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington DC to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown on Tuesday.
Those in attendance included US politicians, self-exiled Hong Kong activists, and Chinese activists in exile. The event was hosted by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a group founded in 1993.
Vancouver & Toronto, Canada
Vancouver’s David Lam Park was the site of a gathering on Tuesday, where attendees called for human rights to be safeguarded and to prevent the infiltration of the Chinese Communist Party. According to online photos, hundreds of people held up candles. The Collective reported that those present did so to mourn the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
Lenny Zhou, the only one Chinese-born city councillor in Vancouver, attended the event. “Thousands people here are the David Lam Park for the Candlelight vigil to commemorate #TiananmenSquareMassacre 35 years ago. Join me now and never forget,” Zhou said in a post on X on Tuesday.
On Sunday, around 2,000 people gathered in the Mel Lastman Square in the North York district of Toronto to commemorate the crackdown, according to the event’s organiser. Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, a Hong Kong democrat who now lives in Taiwan, flew to Toronto to attend the assembly.
There were also protests against the Chinese Communist Party in other Canadian cities such as Calgary.
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