An enduring symbol of resistance for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, the Tiananmen Square vigil held annually June 4 since 1990 has been cancelled…
An enduring symbol of resistance for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, the Tiananmen Square vigil held annually June 4 since 1990 has been cancelled in 2020 by police, who cited coronavirus-related gathering limits, the Wall Street Journal reported.
But many people fear they may never be able to congregate again for the vigil as Beijing cracks down on Hong Kong, passing a plan to impose a national-security law on Hong Kong which targets subversion and sedition, while enhancing law enforcement powers. Activists fear the move will ban public criticism of China, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Pro-democracy protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square in April 1989, which is the largest political demonstration in communist China’s history, lasting 6 weeks with nearly a million people participating. Tanks moved into the protests June 3, killing between several hundred to several thousand people, according to the BBC.
Gordon Chang, the author of “The Coming Collapse of China,” described to the Daily Caller China’s attempt to quash all protest in Hong Kong, where demonstrators have been demanding full democracy from Communist China for over a year, as well as future prospects of Beijing’s influence.
“China is trying to end all forms of protest in Hong Kong, so it is no surprise it has just rammed Article 23 national security legislation through the National People’s Congress in Beijing, bypassing Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, and then ordered there be no vigil in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on June 4,” Chang said.
