The traditional memorial place in Hong Kong, Vitoria Park, was closed by the Hong Kong Authority for various reasons. Even thought the voices wouldn’t stop from the Hongkongers around the world, especially in London, Nottingham, Kingston, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, Manchester City, all popular locations for many of the Hong Kong immigrants.
At 4:00 p.m. on June 4, 2022, Hongkongers living overseas and some local people gathered in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Downing Street, not only to mourn the victims of June 4, but to give support to all the oppressed people in the world, including Ukraine, Tibet and Uyghur Xinjiang united together to resist totalitarianism and protect democracy.
Thousands of people attended the rally, including Cheng Ka-ming, former Deputy Chair of Demosisto; Law Kwun-chung, former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and Chairman of Demosisto; Law Ka-man, former Deputy Secretary of Civil Party and member of Wong Tai Sin District Council; Chung Kim-wah, former Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Social Science in Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
The rally begun with the song “State Anthem of Ukraine” to support Ukraine people. The host stressed to stop dictatorship and appealed the people around the world either from Ukraine or other countries, to join together and fight for democracy and oppose totalitarianism. They shouted “Stop Putin. Stop the war.”
After the gathering, a popular song created for the anti-extradition movement “Glory to Hong Kong,” echoed in the crowd. People shouted: “Fight for freedom, Stand with Hong Kong.”
“We are here today in front of the UK Prime Minster’s Office, to appeal to all free nations around the world, to join together to fight against Russia and the CCP’s encroaching democracy,” said the host.
Law Kwun-chung pointed out the traditional candle vigil in Hong Kong was prohibited by the Hong Kong authority, the freedom of speech and assembly were restricted, and the local Hongkongers couldn’t gather for the memorial anymore.
Law Ka-man said people shouldn’t be restricted by their identities, but to inherit the history that is about to be erased, to seek justice for the victims who have died under the regime, and unite all ethnic groups suppressed by the CCP and to disclose its lies.
Some Hongkongers living in Nottingham organized “Nottingham Stands With Hong Kong” at the Old Market Square, with slogans “Stand up and say no to totalitarian” and “Don’t forget June 4.” They placed exhibition boards to tell the local people about the real stories of June 4 Massacre, the anti-extradition movement in 2019, and the common aggressive nature of the CCP and Russia.
Nottingham has been a sister city with Ningbo, a city of the east coast of China, since 2005. The organizers of the event said the Russian regime is undermining peace in the world and the CCP is an accomplice. They called on the public to sign and appeal to the municipal government to dissociate from Ningbo.
At King’s Cross Railway Station in central London, foreigners launched a flash stand, for the impromptu playing of a number of music pieces which had been frequently played during Hong Kong democracy struggles.
The music included: The “Flower of Freedom,” a song for June 4 democratic movement; “Do You Hear The People Sing” from the musical “Les Miserables” and the most touching song for Hongkongers “Glory to Hong Kong.”
The music of “Flower of Freedom” was from a song “The Sailor” composed by Tai Wan singer Zheng Zhi-hua.
The Lyricist Chow Loy-mow was invited by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China to rewrite the lyrics to better illustrate, in a euphemistic way, what happened on June 4.
The song, “Do You Hear The People Sing” was from the musical of the same name as the novel “Les Miserables,” written by the 1980s French writer Victor Hugo, which was regarded as one of the typical songs for anti-totalitarian revolution.
The Cantonese vision of “Do You Hear The People Sing” was adapted for “Occupy Central with Love and Peace.”
“Glory to Hong Kong” was composed and written by Thomas DGX and some Hong Kong netizens from online forum. The lyrics show that the people refused to be silent for the sake of justice, and stood up to fight against tyranny. The song was popular among Hongkongers during anti-extradition movement in 2019.
Several groups in Sydney, Australia jointly held rallies and marches to mourn the June 4 Massacre, to condemn the CCP and awake the western democratic world to recognize and resist the real nature of the CCP.
Some people held banners such as “Don’t forget June 4” and “Freedom, Democracy, Rule of Law, Human Rights” and “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Times.”
Professor Feng Chongyi, the host of the rally said, “we are here for the commemoration of the 33rd anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre, to reaffirm our determination to strive for a better future, peace and democracy in China, and show the world we will support the Chinese who are fighting for freedom.”
“The CCP has been attempting to erase people’s memory of the Massacre and thwarting any attempts by the young generation to learn the true story,” said Chen Yonglin, former diplomat of the CCP in Sydney, who is also a survivor and a witness of June 4 democratic movement massacre.
In the evening, nearly 200 citizens standing in front of the State Library in downtown Melbourne, Australia, held candles or cell phone lights to observe a minute of silence to the victims of June 4.
“In commemorating the heroes of the June 4, we need to inherit their spirit to overthrow the CCP and end the CCP,” said Ruan Jie, one of the organizers of the rally, Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council and President of Tiananmen Times.
“Thanks for people from Hong Kong to join our rally, and thanks for the people of Hong Kong continuing the candle vigil in Victoria Park every June 4 for more than 30 years. I’m very moved by you to remember what you would usually do on this special day.”
Jane Poon, Spokesperson for the Australian-Hong Kong Link and President of the Victoria Hongkongers Association, said that when she was living in Hong Kong, she had seen lots of Hongkongers marching to the streets to support the righteousness of Chinese students.
“Hongkongers couldn’t commemorate the Massacre in Hong Kong Victoria Park since the invasion of the CCP in 2019. We can enjoy this precious freedom in Australia, so we should do more to support democracy and protest against the harassment of the CCP.”
