Another blow to freedom!
The Chinese Communist Party banned Hong Kong citizens from commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre.
The bloodbath was 33 years ago: On June 4, 1989, the Chinese army in Beijing violently crushed the protests of the democratic movement. Hundreds of people are said to have died.
background: In 1989, millions of people demonstrated in what was then British Hong Kong in support of Tiananmen students.
“The more Beijing tries to erase history, the brighter and longer the memory – in Hong Kong and beyond,” Samuel Chu (44), founder and executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), told BILD.
An image of a man standing unarmed and facing an approaching tank in Tiananmen Square has gone viral around the worldPhoto: Jeff Widener/AP
To commemorate the dead, Hong Kongers gather at 8 pm every year in Victoria Park, holding candles. The authorities banned the vigil in 2020 and 2021 on the pretext of coronavirus health restrictions.
However, many Hong Kong residents believe this was just an excuse to stifle public expression in the wake of pro-democracy protests in 2019. Particularly bitter: This year people are not even allowed to go to Victoria Park.
