Every year since the tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989, Hong Kongers have gathered in their thousands to remember the fallen. The annual Tiananmen Vigil, where candles light up Victoria Park, was an event laden with significance. It was a statement that Hong Kongers would not forget those who had died under the heavy boot of the totalitarian state. It was a symbol of the city’s distinctive history and its autonomy from Beijing.
Even last year, despite the authorities banning the protest under the pretext of Covid-19 restrictions, thousands gathered peacefully.
It’s unlikely the same will happen tomorrow. The organisers of last year’s vigil are in jail. This year’s vigil has been banned. And anyone who attends has been threatened with up to five years in prison.
Hong Kong is now a place where peaceful protestors are routinely being locked up for crimes which used to be punished with a slap on the wrist.
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