The commemoration of the Tiananmen events took place in Hong Kong four years ago. Now security measures are strict on the anniversary.
Hong Kong police on Sunday arrested a well-known dissident and several other people on the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre.
At least 10 people were arrested and taken away in police cars, they say South China Morning Post magazine and news agencies AFP and AP.
Peaceful protests by individual people have been recorded in news photos.
Among those arrested is a 67-year-old democracy activist Alexandra Wong. An activist known as “Grandma Wong” carried flowers in the area where a commemoration of the massacre was held for years.
The police also caught a young man dressed in black who was holding in his hands by Candace Chong play 35th of May. The play tells about the consequences of the Tiananmen events.
At least hundreds of people died in the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989. At that time, the Chinese army crushed a peaceful demonstration of students demanding reforms in Tiananmen, or Tiananmen Square, in Beijing.
Commemoration of the massacre is prohibited
For decades, Hong Kong was the only Chinese region where it was possible to remember the events of Tiananmen.
Just four years ago, thousands of people gathered for a candlelight demonstration in the Victoria Park area. This year, an event celebrating China’s cultural diversity will be held in Victoria Park.
Widespread commemoration of Tiananmen has been impossible in Hong Kong since 2020, when the new security law came into force. Under the law, criticizing and dissenting from Chinese politics is largely prohibited. Actions considered terrorism or subversive can even result in a life sentence.
The Victoria Park area has been patrolled by a large number of policemen over the weekend. The police have stopped people and searched their belongings.
According to the AFP news agency, an opposition politician, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, was also arrested on Sunday Chan Po-ying. The democracy activist was holding an LED candle and two flowers when the police took him to his car.
Also former president of the Hong Kong Journalists Association Mak Yin-ting and former trade union leader Leo Tang was arrested according to AFP.
Already on Saturday, the police arrested eight people because they were suspected of inciting unrest, “subversive” behavior and disturbing the peace.
Sources: STT, Reuters, AFP, AP