A Crime to Remember June 4

The last candlelight vigil in Victoria Park on June 4, 2019

In Hong Kong it is the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, a tragic anniversary that used to be marked with tens of thousands of people descending on Victoria Park for the candlelight vigil.

Upon entering the Causeway Bay park, attendees passed by a small statue of the Goddess of Democracy and received a white candle and a conical paper cup with a small hole cut at the bottom as a candle holder, and a program.

The Goddess of Democracy statue

People sat on football pitches and quietly waited for the event to start, where every year the same songs were played, the same kind of speeches made, calling for the Chinese government to be accountable for the deaths of Beijing residents in and around Tiananmen Square. 

There would be a voice recording from one of the Tiananmen Mothers, whose son or daughter died during the bloody crackdown, continuing to mourn their loss without recognition from the government, and a survivor or witness would also give a speech, telling the assembled crowd what they had heard and seen.

Songs were sung, slogans chanted, and candles lit -- with people in awe of the magical sight of these small lights that shone so brightly in the dark. The candles were a powerful reminder of why it was important to gather and remember.

This ritual happened for 30 consecutive years until suddenly overnight it has become a crime to remember June 4 after the national security law was implemented in July 2020.

Some of the organisers of the vigil, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, including Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho Chun-yan, and Lee Cheuk-yan were arrested and charged with violating the national security law. They are now remanded in custody.

Kwan and Lau (middle) surrounded by police

The subsequent anniversaries were "cancelled" due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and this year is the first one free of restrictions.

However, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu refused to clearly state if people could commemorate June 4, saying they should obey the law.

But some people were undeterred yesterday and there are reports that up to eight people were arrested for publicly marking the anniversary of the crackdown.

Two people, Kwan Chun-pong and Lau Ka-yee wore black T-shirts and a red cross painted on their mouths, stood by Victoria Park and planned to stage a 24-hour hunger strike. But they were taken away by the police.

Meanwhile two artists outside the Sogo Department Store in Causeway Bay were taken away by the police too. One of them, Sanmu Chan shouted, "Do not forget June 4! Don't be afraid of them, Hongkongers!" as two police held each arm and escorted him away. He was even verbally warned by another officer to shut up, but the artist continued chanting.

Chan (middle) told Hongkongers not to forget 6/4

Another couple in white who held chrysanthemum flowers were taken away. When asked if they were being arrested, the young man said he didn't know why.

After people could not go to Victoria Park, the Tiananmen Square Museum in Mong Kok became the next pilgrimage spot, but then it too was unceremoniously shut down just before June 4, 2021. Police raided the museum and took away all of the artefacts that had been collected over the years.

Now Hongkongers can only remember the anniversary in their hearts, and also reflect on how much the city has changed in such a short period of time.

While the authorities are trying very hard to make people forget June 4, they cannot succeed. And the diaspora outside of Hong Kong are even more determined to keep the memory alive, ensuring the candles continue to shine brightly.

Pillar of Shame Confiscated as Evidence

The Pillar of Shame when it stood in the HKU campus

The saga of the sculpture paying homage to the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre continues with it being confiscated by the police yesterday, apparently related to a national security case.

The Pillar of Shame, which had been taken apart, wrapped up and hidden in the University of Hong Kong's Kadoorie Centre in Yuen Long, was taken by the police as evidence for a subversion case.

Since 1997, the eight-metre tall sculpture featuring people in an organic pyramid, was standing at the HKU campus until it was dismantled in the middle of the night by a crew in hard hats in December 2021.

It was removed late one night in December 2021

When Jens Galschiot, the artist who made the sculpture heard about the latest development from the media, he slammed the operation as "outrageous", as he said he was the owner of the artwork and no one had consulted him on the matter.

He wrote a message on his newsletter which read in full:

I just got the news from the media about the removing of the Pillar of Shame from Hong Kong University. This is outrageous. This is my sculpture and nobody has consulted or informed me about anything.

I have heard that the sculpture will be used as evidence under the national security law, but this makes no sense to me.

The pillar was placed in Hong Kong, before Hong Kong was handed over by the British. It is an art piece made and exhibited by a Danish artist (me) as his personal project. The initiative has been mine, nobody has incited me to put it there, and I personally paid all expenses for it. 

I cannot see how they can use the sculpture under the national security law. The Democratic Alliance and many Hongkongers have been assisting me putting the sculpture in Hong Kong, but so has shipping companies, crane firms and University of Hong Kong. Even Hong Kong authorities has given permission for me to put it up and move it around.

Though I am deeply touched that the Pillar is used this way in Hong Kong, the events confirm the that symbolic language of art cannot be crushed, and only gets stronger when attacked. The Pillar of Shame and talks about the June 4th massacre hasn’t been more present than now. Hong Kong (China!) took down the pillar but got a 1000 back. It appears as 3D prints all over the world, as AI and as banners.

 

Galschiot continues to demand sculpture back

Sincerely yours,
Jens Galschiot, May 5^th, 2023

 

The security bureau released a statement replying to Galschiot in part: "Some organisations attempted to mislead the public in the name of artistic freedom and requested to return the evidence, smearing the police's legal action with insensible blame, undermining law and the rule of law."

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said the removal of the statue had nothing to do with the upcoming June 4 anniversary, and that the operation was done according to the ongoing investigation.

"The legal proceedings are still ongoing. I cannot reveal any details... We will continue to search for more evidence to support the prosecution work," he said.

The organiser of Hong Kong's annual Tiananmen Square candlelight vigil -- the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriot Democratic Movements of China -- together with three of its leading members, Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho Chun-yah, and Chow Hang-tung have been charged with inciting subversion under the national security law.

The chances of Galschiot retrieving his sculpture have dimmed significantly now that it has been confiscated as "evidence"...

Chow Hang-Tung Acquitted in Appeal

Chow won appeal against conviction for inciting ppl to gather

Just in the last few hours, democracy activist Chow Hang-tung won an appeal against her conviction and sentence for inciting people to gather at Victoria Park for the June 4th anniversary.

The ex-vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was convicted for inciting others to take part in an unauthorised assembly and was sentenced for 15 months in jail in January. 

Up until 2020, the June 4 vigil held annually

She has almost finished serving that sentence almost 12 months later...

In the ruling Justice Judianna Barnes wrote that while Chow appealed to the public to come to Victoria Park to gather, it was not a crime because the police ban on the candlelight vigil was not legally sound.

Justice Barnes also found the police did not properly and fully exercise their responsibility to explore measures to facilitate a peaceful and safe public gathering before issuing a ban on the vigil.

Not only that but Justice Barnes has given Chow the green light to launch a parallel trial the police ban's legality in her criminal trial because she was not the applicant for police permission for the vigil, and yet she was prosecuted for it.

Is this for real? Is there still some rule of law left in Hong Kong?

Chow has been determined from the beginning and methodical in her approach, taking down the prosecution's arguments point by point.

Chow still faces NSL charges with Lee and Ho

But she still faces national security law charge of inciting subversion of state power together with Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho Chjn-yan, the chair and vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance. The trio are alleged to have incited others to subvert state power between July 1, 2020 and September 8, 2021.

Legal Win for Jimmy Lai

Lai's legal team has a boost with well-known UK barrister

A big win for Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying -- to have his request granted of having a prominent British barrister represent him in his upcoming national security law collusion trial.

The Court of Appeal made the ruling on Wednesday, following a decision by High Court Chief Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor last month to allow King's Counsel Tim Owen from London to join Lai's legal team for public interest.

Owen's participation was opposed by the Department of Justice and the Bar Association, but the latter did not lodge an appeal against the chief judge's ruling.

Owen has worked on many cases in Hong Kong

The department argued that overseas counsel could not explain to judges new perspectives on the national security law, that was imposed by Beijing in June 2020, as they lacked a full understanding of the city's unique socio-political and constitutional context.

In other words they claimed he was an outsider who did not have a full appreciation of what was going on in Hong Kong at the time.

But the appeal court dismissed the argument, saying: "The forthcoming criminal trial is a high profile case attracting substantial publicity locally and abroad. It involves the resolution of legal issues of great general public importance that would impact substantially on the development of [national security law] jurisprudence and sedition offences," Wednesday's judgment said, without identifying the author.

"Public perception of fairness in the trial is of vital importance to the administration of justice. The court must adopt a flexible and sensible approach to arrive at a decision that would best suit the public interest in this application."

High Court Chief Justice Jeremy Poon

The 74-year-old Lai will stand trial next month before a three-judge panel in the Court of First Instance on charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious material.

Prosecutors are accusing Lai of conspiracy to attract foreign sanctions or blockades against city and mainland Chinese officials through pieces published by his now-closed Apple Daily newspaper, as well as through a lobbying group he is alleged to have directed and financed behind the scenes.

Owen is no stranger to Hong Kong, having worked on several high-profile cases, including Rurik Jutting, an ex-British banker who was convicted of murdering two women in 2016, and the highest ranking officer among seven policemen prosecuted for assault on a protester during the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

The department must be fuming, and by extension the government. Some pundits on Twitter think the authorities may change the rules to prevent Owen from representing Lai but the timing might be too late for that.

This development has shown it is possible to get decent if not really good representation in court.

By the same token it also helps if you yourself refuse to go down without a fight, as in the case of Chow Hang-tung, who is remanded in custody and is facing two national security law charges including subversion.

Chow fighting every legal avenue from jail

She was a part of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised the Tiananmen Square candlelight vigil every year in Victoria Park for 30 years. 

For that Chow says it is impossible for her to plead guilty she said in court. "Pursuing democracy is not a crime. I plead not guilty." 

A trained lawyer, Chow is defending herself and is methodically fighting whatever legal avenue she can think of, including making 15 bail applications for the two cases, but all have been denied.

But she did get a big win -- to allow the media to report on pre-trial hearings for national security law cases. Not only does that allow the media to report on how the national security law is applied, but also see the physical state of the accused in court.

Chow also uses the opportunity to shout out her slogans to the gallery, "Do not forget June 4. Resist till the end!" in a bid to publicise the goals of the movement.

Her biggest fear is not jail itself, but the world becoming indifferent to increasing abuse.

She seems prepared for the long fight along with Lai. They are not going gently into the good night.

Pelosi's Taiwan Trip, HK Media Victory on NSL

Pelosi received a medal of honour from Tsai this morning

As expected the raging threats did not stop US Speaker Nancy Pelosi from arriving in Taiwan, meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen and even receiving a medal of honour for standing firm in safeguarding freedom, democracy and human rights.

PLA have surrounded the island doing live drills

Nevertheless, China is retaliating by holding live military drills surrounding Taiwan, more than it did in 1996. The live-fire drills will apparently continue until Thursday, though it is not clear how much longer Pelosi will be in Taiwan.

And as usual the Taiwanese people are cool as cucumbers, unmoved by the latest fiasco, but for the most part pleased to see such public support for their country.

Meanwhile a very important ruling happened yesterday in Hong Kong with regards to national security law cases.

In a landmark ruling, reporting restrictions regarding the transfer of criminal cases to the High Court must be lifted if the defendant makes such a request.

This came about after lawyer and activist Chow Hang-tung challenged a magistrate's decision to retain reporting restrictions on national security law cases.

Chow was arrested for her part in the June 4 vigil

On Tuesday, High Court Judge Alex Lee said that magistrates had no say in whether to lift reporting restrictions on committal hearings if the accused had applied to do so.

Chow is facing charges of inciting and taking part in illegal assembly of the 2020 June 4 candlelight vigil, and for organising the vigil the following year, as she is the then vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China.

She along with the group's other leaders, Albert Ho Chun-yan, and Lee Cheuk-yan were charged with incitement to subversion under the national security law.

She filed the judicial review in May after Principal Magistrate Peter Law's decision in April to reject her request to lift reporting restrictions.

This ruling is significant in terms of press freedom, but also in helping people understand what happens in the court proceedings for a national security law case. It also gives some transparency and accountability with regards to the judicial system.

High Court Judge Lee allows reporting NSL cases

The government will not be pleased, especially Beijing. But hey -- if they want people to know more about the national security law, watching the cases through reports from the media -- gives people a better idea of what it's all about. 

June 4 Erased from Hong Kong

The candlelight vigils in Victoria Park in HK are no more

The 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown is this Saturday. Earlier this year the Pillar of Shame, a statue dedicated to the victims of the June 4 massacre in Beijing was quietly taken down in the middle of the night in the University of Hong Kong, and last December, the Goddess of Democracy removed from Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

Days before the anniversary last year, the June 4th Museum in Mong Kok was forcibly shut down, its display items removed by the police, and the mass gathering in Victoria Park where participants shouted slogans, sang songs and lit white candles is no more.

This statue has been carted off into storage

The Hong Kong Alliance, organisers of the previously annual event were arrested and charged with being "foreign agents" over incitement to subversion.

Now because of fears of violating the national security law, churches in Hong Kong did not hold mass to commemorate the June 4 anniversary, ending the 33-year tradition.

"We find it very difficult under the current social atmosphere," said Reverend Martin Ip, chaplain of the Hong Kong Federation of Catholic Students, one of the organisers.

"Our bottom line is that we don't want to breach any law in Hong Kong," he said.

But luckily in Vancouver this past weekend, commemorations already began. 

At the University of British Columbia there is a Goddess of Democracy statue between the main study hall and the bus loop.

Materials from the June 4 Museum confiscated

"It's been happening in China for 33 years -- no one can say something about June 4," says Mabel Tung, of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement. 

"Right now, they say May 35 as representing June 4. Because they try to erase June 4. Young people in China, they don't know what happened June 4 because their parents didn't want them to know. They would be in trouble if they talk about that in Mainland China," she said.

The group will also hold a march and vigil in front of the Chinese consulate on June 4.

Tung says Beijing is afraid of June 4.

"They try to erase history," she said. "So they try to erase any image related to June 4 because Hong Kong is the one city in the world that still remembered June 4 every year with a candlelight vigil. Almost 200,000 people in the park... and now it's gone. So we have to keep the spirit here."

The Goddess of Democracy at UBC campus

Tung never thought the vigil would be banned in 2022 because Hong Kong was supposed to have 50 years of no change until 2047. 

But here we are. Reminders from statues to slogans painted on sidewalks and walls have pretty much been physically scrubbed away from the city, but the victims will forever be remembered in people's hearts and minds.