Tiananmen exile Han Dongfang says commemoration is a ‘matter for the heart’
- With this year’s candlelight vigil banned, the most prominent dissident still living in Hong Kong says facts of 1989 are unchanged
- National security law will be a ‘sword of Damocles’ hanging over everyone in the city equally
Han has taken part in the candlelight vigil at Victoria Park almost every year since 1993, missing the occasion only if he was travelling. The public commemoration has been seen by many as a symbol of how “one country, two systems” is practised in Hong Kong, because such a gathering would not be possible in any mainland city.
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Hongkongers vow to remember Tiananmen Square crackdown, despite ban of annual vigil
The alliance said it still planned to observe a moment of silence at the park, in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay district, and urged the public to join an online gathering and light candles across the city.
The government has extended the ban on public gatherings due to the Covid-19 pandemic until June 18, and groups of more than eight people are not permitted.
However, many Hong Kong residents are pessimistic over whether public commemoration of June 4 will be allowed in coming years, once the new national security law is introduced. The law is expected to be promulgated by the National People’s Congress in coming months and imposed on Hong Kong as part of Annex III of the Basic Law.
