Forwarded from 📡Guardians of Hong Kong
As Hong Kong clamps down, ‘burden of remembering’ #TiananmenMassacre shifts overseas
// In the decades since the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing on June 4, 1989, one of the most indelible images associated with the event, alongside “Tank Man” and the Goddess of Democracy statue, has been a sea of candles, lighting up the night.
Every year, tens of thousands gathered in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to commemorate the dead and echo their calls for democracy in China.
No more. The 30th anniversary of the massacre in 2019 was the last time it was marked by a mass gathering in Hong Kong. Memorials since then have been banned on coronavirus grounds, as is the case this year, with public gatherings still limited to four people...
“With the last symbol of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech in Hong Kong being taken away it is crucial for Hong Kongers and all persons of conscience around the world to pick up the torch and make sure that the flame of freedom and democracy remain burning,” said Mabel Tung, chair of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement (#VSSDM), a group founded by Chinese Canadians in support of the 1989 protests.
...Amnesty International said it is arranging events in more than 20 cities this year, and will call on participants not only to remember those killed in Beijing, but also “stand in solidarity with those in Hong Kong whose peaceful acts of commemoration are now criminalized.”
In Asia, one of the largest memorials will be in Taipei, where organizers plan to unveil a replica of the “Pillar of Shame,” a statue commemorating the Tiananmen victims that was forcibly removed from Hong Kong last year...//
Source: Globe and Mail #June3
Read the full article:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-as-hong-kong-clamps-down-burden-of-remembering-tiananmen-massacre/
#Remembrance #Solidarity #Overseas #Resistance #Diaspora #Hongkongers
// In the decades since the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing on June 4, 1989, one of the most indelible images associated with the event, alongside “Tank Man” and the Goddess of Democracy statue, has been a sea of candles, lighting up the night.
Every year, tens of thousands gathered in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to commemorate the dead and echo their calls for democracy in China.
No more. The 30th anniversary of the massacre in 2019 was the last time it was marked by a mass gathering in Hong Kong. Memorials since then have been banned on coronavirus grounds, as is the case this year, with public gatherings still limited to four people...
“With the last symbol of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech in Hong Kong being taken away it is crucial for Hong Kongers and all persons of conscience around the world to pick up the torch and make sure that the flame of freedom and democracy remain burning,” said Mabel Tung, chair of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement (#VSSDM), a group founded by Chinese Canadians in support of the 1989 protests.
...Amnesty International said it is arranging events in more than 20 cities this year, and will call on participants not only to remember those killed in Beijing, but also “stand in solidarity with those in Hong Kong whose peaceful acts of commemoration are now criminalized.”
In Asia, one of the largest memorials will be in Taipei, where organizers plan to unveil a replica of the “Pillar of Shame,” a statue commemorating the Tiananmen victims that was forcibly removed from Hong Kong last year...//
Source: Globe and Mail #June3
Read the full article:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-as-hong-kong-clamps-down-burden-of-remembering-tiananmen-massacre/
#Remembrance #Solidarity #Overseas #Resistance #Diaspora #Hongkongers
The Globe and Mail
As Hong Kong clamps down, ‘burden of remembering’ Tiananmen Massacre shifts overseas
The anniversary will be commemorated by smaller events around the world, as Chinese authorities threaten to prosecute those who attend public gatherings under their jurisdiction