Heavy-handed policing and visible surveillance marked the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, as authorities tightly controlled all attempts at public commemoration.
The annual vigil at Victoria Park — once organised by the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance — has not taken place for six consecutive years. Until 2019, Hong Kong was the only Chinese territory where mass public commemorations of the 1989 crackdown were tolerated. This year, as the world marked 36 years since the 1989 crackdown, authorities in Hong Kong again enforced strict bans on public remembrance.
For the third consecutive year, the park’s football pitches were transformed into a government-sponsored “Hometown Market Carnival,” replacing candles and mourning with commercial booths and patriotic slogans. The move underscores the authorities’ intent to suppress any form of public remembrance of the 1989 massacre.
A heavy police presence blanketed Causeway Bay, including armoured vehicles, plainclothes units, and patrols in tactical gear, aimed at deterring any form of gathering. On Lion Rock, a mountaintop emblematic of Hong Kong’s spirit of resistance, police officers were observed camping, with a helicopter dropping off equipment the day before.
Silent Gestures, Swift Repression
Even the most subtle acts of remembrance were swiftly met with police intervention. Around 3:30 p.m., a masked woman stood at the entrance to Victoria Park, hands clasped in silent reflection. Within moments, four officers in protective vests surrounded her. She was led under a tent, searched, and questioned. Orange tape was quickly set up to block journalists from filming. After being released, she declined to speak and was quietly escorted away.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., veteran activist Lui Yuk-lin was removed from Causeway Bay MTR Exit E by multiple officers and placed into a police vehicle. With her hands clasped in prayer, Lui did not resist. The entrance had already been cordoned off with orange tape, creating a restricted zone as police blocked passers-by.
Elsewhere, long-time activist “Uncle Ng” was intercepted after exiting the MTR. Officers searched him for over 15 minutes before escorting him to SOGO department store. Surrounded by at least ten officers, he managed to raise a placard quoting former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev:
“State crime is the root of all criminality. When a ruling party faces no opposition, governance lacks competition, power becomes unrestrained, freedom of expression is absent, wrongdoing remains concealed, and criminal acts go unpunished…”
A plainclothes officer immediately warned him he was “disturbing public order” and demanded the sign be put away within seconds, or he would be arrested. Ng complied, was searched again, and escorted out of the area.
Performance as Protest, Treated as Threat
On the eve of the anniversary, performance artist Chan Mei-tung was targeted outside SOGO for chewing bubble gum. Plainclothes officers searched her and cordoned off the area, ordering journalists to remain across the street. Chan was then escorted to the MTR and waved off by officers. In 2022, Chan was arrested at the same location for peeling potatoes in a silent protest.
Media and Local Shops Face Scrutiny
Reporters faced repeated identity checks, particularly those carrying cameras. One foreign correspondent said he was stopped four times en route from SOGO to the park. A Collective HK reporter was questioned three times in 15 minutes. Inside the carnival, uniformed officers regularly monitored entrances and journalists.
Meanwhile, politically sympathetic businesses—known locally as “yellow shops”—reported visits from Fire Services and Customs officers in the days leading up to the anniversary, in what critics say is part of a broader climate of intimidation.
According to Collective HK, at least 67 people have been arrested or charged over June Fourth-related actions since 2020. Charges have included incitement, unlawful assembly, and disturbing public order. Over 30 individuals were detained for allegedly “breaching public peace.”
The state’s response this year confirms a clear policy: even silent acts of remembrance are deemed a threat to its control over historical memory.
Graphics: ReNews