We Continue to Remember

Five years ago in Victoria Park...

It is 35 years since that horrific night in 1989 when the tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square in Beijing and thousands of people did not go home that evening.

It is five years since the last time people in Hong Kong were able to gather in Victoria Park to commemorate the dead.

It is now a crime to do that in the city.

Artist Sanmu Chen was arrested the day before in Causeway Bay soon after he started making hand gestures allegedly related to June 4.

The Hong Kong police will be out in force all over the area and near Victoria Park to ensure no candles are lit, real or digital, nor any other public signs of remembrance.

"The government's position on public events is very clear: all activities by any person must be conducted according to the law," explained Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu at a media briefing. 

"No activities that contravene the law should take place. The government of course will take action according to the law, which includes the public order ordinance, the Hong Kong national security law, and safeguarding the Hong Kong safety ordinance."

So instead in Vancouver, there are plans to hold a large candlelight vigil at Dr David Lam Park this evening. While the organiser, Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement suggests people bring their own candles and dress according to the weather, and the forecast is for sunny skies by late afternoon, early evening. 

There will be a Zunzi comics exhibition, and not only information about June 4 but 2019 as well.

There are so many things to remember, but we must carry on commemorating what happened 35 years ago, five years ago.