For 30 years, people in Hong Kong gathered on June 4 to commemorate the hundreds of lives lost during the Tiananmen Square massacre. This year, however, they gathered to celebrate Hong Kong’s transfer from Britain to mainland China instead.
For three decades, people gathered at Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to commemorate those killed during the Tiananmen Square protest in 1989. This year, however, the event has been refocused to celebrate the hand-over of Hong Kong from Britain to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. The actual hand-over date is July 1, which is also celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day. Nonetheless, authorities found it useful to begin festivities early to eclipse the Tiananmen Square commemoration. This is just one of the changes enacted since a strict security law was imposed in 2020. In May, books containing references to Tiananmen Square were removed from library shelves. Also in May, authorities dissolved Hong Kong’s second largest political party. Activism and speaking against the government are no longer allowed, and many former activists populate prisons or have gone into hiding. Changes in social freedoms that were expected to evolve over 50 years have occurred at a dizzying pace over the last three.
Years ago, I predicted this would occur. The “one country, two systems” mantra was always a myth. An authoritarian government and a democratic government cannot co-exist in the same society—it makes the authoritarian government look bad. Mainland China simply bided its time until the right moment came. Now Hong Kong’s assimilation is gaining speed.
Some in Hong Kong feel it is their moral duty to keep the memory of Tiananmen Square alive, since such talk is forbidden on the mainland. Some chose to actively protest during the “celebration” and were promptly handled by police. Of course, heavy handed policing does not cast the local government in a good light. As one former district counsellor put it: “If merely handing out candles [to commemorate Tiananmen Square] is perceived as threatening, it seems to me that this regime is fragile.”
Source:
Theodora Yu, Christian Shepherd, “Hong Kong, Once Site of Tiananmen Vigil, Hosts Pro-China Fair,” Washington Post, 4 June 2023, A22; see also https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/03/hong-kong-victoria-park-tiananmen-vigil-china/
“Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day – July 1, 2023,” National Today, accessed 6 July 2023 from https://nationaltoday.com/hong-kong-special-administrative-region-establishment-day/
Photo: Laurel Chor, Washington Post
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