The gathering in London, themed “Be water, be united”, was expected to be held outside the British Parliament on Sunday afternoon, with fugitive activists Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Finn Lau Cho-dik, the Hongkongers in Britain group founder Simon Cheng Man-kit, Hong Kong Watch co-founder Benedict Rogers and British politician Luke de Pulford as guests.

According to a message on Law’s Facebook page, the London event sought to unite Hong Kong people in Britain, in “fighting for democracy and safeguarding freedom”.

“Only by continuing to take action to expand local and international support for Hong Kong issues, maintain the political participation of the community, and continue to pay attention to Hong Kong affairs, can we implement our original beliefs,” the message read.

On June 12, 2019, police fired tear gas as protesters charged at them outside the Legislative Council to oppose a now-withdrawn extradition bill. The debate on the bill was postponed and the bill withdrawn in September that year, but the social unrest continued until the coronavirus pandemic broke out in early 2020.

Commemorative events also kicked off in Britain on Saturday with a gathering in Guildford and an art exhibition in London.

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Organisers said the Guildford rally was attended by about 120 people, and photos posted on Telegram showed attendees wearing black shirts and yellow face masks. Some of them also carried placards with slogans such as “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong” or “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times”, a phrase considered a violation of the national security law which was implemented in June 2020.

In the US, the Hong Kong Democracy Council hosted an online sharing session on Sunday morning. The event was moderated by the council’s board chairman Alex Chow Yong-kang and attended by speakers such as fugitive activist Ted Hui Chi-fung, former district councillor Carmen Lau Ka-man and the council’s strategy and campaign director Anna Kwok.

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During the forum, Hui said many Hongkongers at home and abroad were asking what else they could do for the city. He said he believed people should gradually learn to look ahead instead of remaining in the “pain”, “anger” and feeling of “helplessness” caused by the events that began on June 12 three years ago.

“Instead, we should think more about more concrete things to do and look ahead … building overseas civil societies to let all Hongkongers’ groups around the world to join. This awareness is the most impressive to me,” Hui said.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Saturday said she had no regrets about pushing for the extradition bill, noting any resulting issues had stemmed from the “officials in charge of the bill” not making serious effort to explain it to the public.

Hong Kong’s incoming leader John Lee Ka-chiu, then the security chief, and Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, were the ministers responsible for handling the controversial bill at the time.

Additional reporting by Danny Mok