Hong Kong Police Arrest 2 on Eve of Tiananmen Square Anniversary, Threaten Epoch Times Reporter

The Hong Kong police deployed a large number of officers in Causeway Bay on the night of June 3, 2024. (Kiri Choy/The Epoch Times)

On the eve of the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Hong Kong police arrested a 62-year-old man in connection with seven prior arrests for posts relating to June 4, a street artist, and threatened The Epoch Times journalist for live-streaming.

On June 3, Hong Kong police said they arrested a 62-year-old man for “offences in connection with seditious intention.” The press release says his arrest was in connection to seven previous arrests of individuals for publishing posts relating to a “sensitive date.” The sensitive date in question appears to refer to June 4, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Though the press release did not name the man arrested, local media identified the man as the uncle of Tonyee Chow Hang-tung, a well-known barrister, activist, and the former Chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Alliance), the group behind the city’s annual Tiananmen Massacre vigil.

Street Artist Detained

At around 9 p.m. on June 3, police detained Sanmu Chen, a performance artist, outside the Sogo Department store.

Sanmu Chen was taken away by the police less than five minutes after he appeared in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on June 3. (Sheung Yu Cheuk/The Epoch Times)

Mr. Chen was mimicking drinking and raised two fingers to the sky in front of a police vehicle without speaking. He was soon surrounded by officers, who set up a cordon for investigation. After about five minutes, Mr. Chen was taken away in a police vehicle. The police later stated that a man causing a disturbance was taken to the police station for investigation and was released unconditionally after being questioned.

Mr. Chen was detained by police on June 3, 2023, for shouting, “Hongkongers, don’t be afraid! Remember June 4th [Tiananmen Massacre],” according to The Epoch Times reporter and other reporters at the scene.

Photojournalist Threatened

At around 4 p.m. on June 3, Kiri Choy, The Epoch Times photojournalist, was live-streaming outside the Sogo Department Store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, when a chief inspector and a plainclothes officer intervened. They said the live stream might “capture police deployment and obstruct their duties.” They threatened to arrest the journalist if she continued.

After stopping the livestream, Ms. Choy spoke with the officers and pointed to other media outlets on the scene that were also filming.

The officers insisted that Ms. Choy had been targeting police operations, asked her to “consider the feelings of the police,” and warned her that “if you target the police, you will be in trouble.”

Ms. Choy later contacted the police’s media liaison team and was verbally informed that live streaming was permitted on-site.

In addition, according to Ms. Choy, the police checked and recorded the identities of the journalists present, asking some for their residential areas, and said that they were trying to obtain the names of the media outlets.

June 4, 1989

On June 4, 1989, China’s ruling communist regime sent troops and tanks to the heart of the Chinese capital and opened fire on unarmed protesting students who called for democracy and a more open society. Since then, any mention of the incident has been strictly censored by the regime in mainland China.

For the past three decades, Hong Kong as a former British colony had remained the only place on Chinese soil beyond Taiwan to host large-scale public candlelight vigils to memorialize the thousands of students killed at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The last candlelight vigil organized by the Alliance at Victoria Park was in 2019, marking the 30th anniversary of the massacre.

In 2020 and 2021, the Hong Kong authorities banned the gatherings, citing the pandemic.

In September 2021, following the enactment of the National Security Law, the Alliance’s leaders were arrested, and the Alliance disbanded. Since then, the candlelight vigils have ceased, though citizens have found other ways to remember the Tiananmen Square massacre around Causeway Bay near Victoria Park, often facing police action.

The sea of candlelight that used to fill Victoria Park with tens of thousands of mourners has been replaced, for the second consecutive year, by fairs and carnivals by pro-Beijing groups. On June 3, over a hundred police officers, some in tactical vests, were deployed in the area, with armored vehicles, police cars, and tactical buses stationed nearby.

Victoria Park in Hong Kong, which used to be the place for the annual June 4 candlelight vigil, has been rented to pro-government organizations for a flea market event. Tapes had encircled unoccupied areas on June 4, 2023. (Benson Lau/ The Epoch Times)

8 Arrested for Remembering Tiananmen Massacre

2024 marks the first Tiananmen Massacre anniversary under Hong Kong’s new Article 23 legislation, which, since it was introduced in March, has deepened concerns about the erosion of the freedoms of Hong Kong’s residents by expanding the authorities’ power to deal with possible challenges to its rule, including punishing treason and insurrection with up to life imprisonment.

Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a senior counsel and non-official member of Hong Kong’s Executive Council, did not believe mourning activities had seditious intent, and citizens holding candles in Victoria Park would not be illegal as long as they did not affect others.

“Generally speaking, you should be able to do your own thing without affecting other people,” he said on June 2, noting that if illegal activities occurred at the same time on the scene, suspicions might arise.

However, on May 28, Hong Kong police arrested six people remembering the Massacre, including Ms. Chow, 39; Ms. Chow’s mother, Chow Lau Wah-chun, 65; former Standing Committee members of the Alliance Lau Ka-yee, 51, and Kwan Chun-bong, 52; pro-democracy former Tsuen Wan District Councillor Katrina Chan Kim-kam, 37; and dentist Lee Ying-chi, 55 on charges of violating the National Security Law’s Article 24, which pertains to “inciting subversion.”

Mr. Kwan’s wife Poon Yau-chui was arrested on May 29. Except for Ms. Chow, the others were later released on bail.

The police alleged that Ms. Chow had used at least seven arrested individuals to anonymously post seditious messages since April. One of the arrested women, aged 53, was found to have subscribed to an online platform to fund Hong Kong social activists in exile, including Nathan Law, amounting to approximately HK$140,000 ($17,907).