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Connor Mycroft

Western consulates in Hong Kong have created social media posts to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown amid uncertainty about public acts of remembrance.
The UK, US, Canadian and Australian consulates all issued statements or posted images to their social media accounts to mark the event by midafternoon on Tuesday.
“Canada joins Hong Kong and the international community in solemn remembrance of the tragic events of [June 4], 1989,” the Canadian consulate said in a Facebook post.
“Assembling peacefully is a human right, Canada stands with all those prevented from exercising their rights.”
The British consulate also shared an image across its social media channels with the roman numerals for four and six – IV and VI – alongside a phone with its flashlight switched on.
The United States consulate updated its banner image on X, formerly Twitter, with a single candle.
The Australian consulate posted a statement from the country’s foreign affairs minister Penny Wong to mark the anniversary.
Students in Beijing led demonstrations against the central authorities and occupied Tiananmen Square in the spring of 1989. They demanded greater freedoms and for the government to rid itself of corruption.

The army in the early hours of June 4 moved in to clear protesters and an unconfirmed number of unarmed civilians were killed.
Hongkongers in the decades after gathered on June 4 every year for a candlelight vigil to mourn those who died.
The event at Causeway Bay’s Victoria Park, organised by the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Democratic Movements of China, regularly attracted crowds in the tens of thousands.
But authorities refused to grant permission for the commemoration in 2020 and 2021 on the grounds of Covid-19 pandemic health risks and the alliance dissolved in 2021.
No other group has organised a vigil since.
Western diplomats have a long tradition of issuing statements and creating displays on the anniversary of the crackdown.
The windows of the US consulate in Central were often filled with dozens of candles to mark the anniversary.
A European diplomat told the Post in 2022 that the Chinese foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong had issued a message to a list of consulates in the city asking them not to publicly mark the event.


The message appealed to them not to make public gestures about the anniversary, but it was largely ignored.
The latest round of commemorations came amid wider uncertainty about whether Hong Kong residents are allowed to commemorate the event in public.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu did not address questions on the subject from the media on Tuesday.
He instead warned the public against “some people” hijacking topics in a bid to stir up trouble.
An artist was briefly detained by police in Causeway Bay on Monday seconds after he was seen to make hand gestures.
The force’s National Security Department also arrested a man, the eighth individual detained in connection with the first case of alleged sedition under the city’s domestic national security law.
The Christian Times, a weekly newspaper which previously published Tiananmen-related content around the anniversary, instead left its front page blank and gave “restrictive” changes in Hong Kong as the reason.
Sources said police would also monitor social media posts that called for gatherings and step up patrols at sensitive locations such as the government headquarters in Admiralty, the central government’s liaison office in Sai Ying Pun and Victoria Park.


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Hong Kong society

Western diplomats in Hong Kong mark Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary amid uncertainty over acts of remembrance in public

Police officers stage a show of force in the area around Causeway Bay’s Victoria Park, the traditional venue for the commemoration of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

The British consulate in Hong Kong social media channels display the roman numerals for six and four with a phone flashlight to mark the Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary. Photo: X/UKinHongKong

Hundreds of Hong Kong police officers to look out for commemorations of Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4 anniversary

Police officers were out in force in Causeway Bay on Monday evening. Photo: Sam Tsang

Police officers on patrol in Victoria Park Photo: Elson Li

 Artist Sanmu Chen is taken away by officers on Monday night. Photo: Sam Tsang

The eighth suspect arrested is an uncle of activist Chow Hang-tung. Photo: AFP

Hongkongers can mark Tiananmen Square crackdown in private without breaching Article 23 national security law, government advisers say

Police officers blockade Causeway Bay’s Victoria Park in 2021 after the Tiananmen Square crackdown commemoration was banned because of the coronavirus risk. Photo: Robert Ng

An umbrella with the slogan “never forget June 4” in Chinese at a Tiananmen Square commemoration in Hong Kong. Photo: Felix Wong

News

Hong Kong

Society

UK, US, Canadian and Australian consulates issue statements or post images on social media accounts to mark the event
Canada’s consulate says the country ‘stands with all those prevented from exercising their rights’


UK, US, Canadian and Australian consulates issue statements or post images on social media accounts to mark Tiananmen Square crackdown.


Tiananmen Square crackdown

Western diplomats in Hong Kong mark Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary amid uncertainty over acts of remembrance in public

UK, US, Canadian and Australian consulates issue statements or post images on social media accounts to mark the event Canada’s consulate says the country ‘stands with all those prevented from exercising their rights’

UK, US, Canadian and Australian consulates issue statements or post images on social media accounts to mark the event

Canada’s consulate says the country ‘stands with all those prevented from exercising their rights’