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June 4 Museum reopens amid concerns over national security law’s new ‘red lines’ in Hong Kong

  • Alliance behind Tiananmen Square vigil, museum accused of flouting new law
  • No obstruction so far from city government or national security department, alliance says

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Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China members at the June 4 Museum. Photo: Nora Tam
Chan, in his 40s, was among the early visitors when the June 4 Museum reopened on Tuesday after being closed since December because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Giving only his surname, the Hongkonger said he usually visited the place around the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on protesting students at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, but this year he decided to come as soon as he could.

“I don’t know if I will have a chance to come again in future,” he said. “I treat each visit as my last time here. With the national security law, it’s hard to say whether it will be forced to close.”

The interior of the museum in Mong Kok. Photo: Edmond So
The interior of the museum in Mong Kok. Photo: Edmond So

The museum was set up in 2014 by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which has organised an annual candlelight vigil at Victoria Park, the only large-scale commemoration of the Tiananmen Square crackdown to be held anywhere in China.

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The alliance has found itself the target of criticism since Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong last June, banning acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to interfere in the city’s affairs.
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