When even a single flower, a candle, or a book can provoke fear in those in power, when simply wearing black or standing silently can lead to the police’s questioning and removal, it is clear that mourning June 4 has become taboo in Hong Kong. On this sensitive day, Victoria Park and the surrounding Causeway Bay area were effectively placed under lockdown. The regime’s fear of the truth behind the Tiananmen massacre has reached a state of near hysteria.
Despite this, Hongkongers who spontaneously gathered yesterday in Victoria Park and Causeway Bay demonstrated remarkable courage in the face of tyranny, offering light and hope in dark times.
On that same night, under the same sky, candlelight vigils were held in at least ten cities across the UK — including London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cambridge, and Birmingham — as well as around the world, from Taiwan and the US to Canada and Australia.
Even though Victoria Park is now closed off, we can continue to light candles in different corners of the world, keeping the memory alive and refusing to let the truth be erased.
At the rally outside the Chinese Embassy in London, Christopher Mung, Executive Director of Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor, said:
“Tonight, the candles we hold are not only to mourn those who died on June 4, but also to remember those who have lost their freedom simply for insisting on commemorating.”
“The trials of Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, and Chow Hang-tung are not just about these three individuals — they are a direct attack on every Hongkonger who ever joined the Victoria Park vigils.”
We must not let them fight alone.
For those of us who can still speak freely overseas, we carry the responsibility to preserve these memories.
Candles can be extinguished by the regime, but our belief cannot.
The candles in Victoria Park may have been snuffed out, but around the world, they continue to burn brightly.
Photo: Points Media