Hong Kong was the only city in China to hold a large-scale annual vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Massacre this year. Despite 30 years of annual Tiananmen memorials, the Hong Kong government banned this year’s event, citing COVID-19 concerns.
In spite of the ban, thousands of Hong Kong residents flooded Victoria Park in protest. Now, more than two months after the event, pro-democracy activists have been charged for taking part.
At least 24 activists are charged with “knowingly taking part in an unauthorized assembly,” reported pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong. Members of the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, including Chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, were additionally charged with “inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly.” The activists were informed of their charges by police on Aug. 6.
The prominent 23-year-old activist, Joshua Wong, was also charged with taking part in the assembly.
“Clearly, the regime plans to stage another crackdown on the city’s activists by all means,” Wong wrote in response to the charges on Twitter.
Hong Kong’s Tiananmen Vigils were a byproduct of the city’s civil freedoms under its one country, two systems agreement with mainland China. Its basic law promised civil liberties such as the right to vote, gather in protest, and speak freely. Hong Kong’s Annual Tiananmen Vigils were the largest in the world.
