Explainer | Remembering the Tiananmen crackdown: what happened to Hong Kong’s June 4 vigil?
- Annual vigil in Victoria Park to commemorate the anniversary of 1989 Tiananmen Square protests long drew many residents until last one held by organisers in 2019
- Hong Kong had for decades been the only place on Chinese soil to organise large-scale peaceful demonstrations mourning those killed
The anniversary vigil, held at Victoria Park, was attended by tens of thousands of residents, serving both as a visual spectacle with its sea of candles and a spiritual anchor for the occasion.
But starting in 2020, the authorities denied requests to stage the event for two years, citing risks to public health amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The organiser behind the vigil disbanded in August 2021, citing a more restrictive political environment in the wake of the Beijing-decreed national security law, while pro-Beijing groups also booked the venue for events celebrating the country’s diversity in the past two years.
The Post explains the importance of the June 4 vigil to the city.
1. Why June 4?
In 1989, students in Beijing held demonstrations against the central government calling for democracy and an end to corruption.
