The stronger-than-expected turnout on June 4 in Australia’s largest city last week shows that the desperate efforts to extinguish Hong Kong’s annual remembrance of the Tiananmen Square Massacre has created unintended consequences – and a serious public relations problem – for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

By criminalizing an act as simple as the somber lighting of a candle and opportunity to grieve – among many of the acts of suppression – the authorities have just forced the flames to spread across the diaspora and into countries where the CCP lack the control or influence to crack down on gatherings.

Some regulars to Sydney’s annual June 4 vigil outside the Chinese Consulate say the crowd of nearly 1000 people was “around ten times” the amount of people who have attended in recent years and the predominance of Cantonese spoken, Hong Kong pro-Hong Kong flags flown and protest chants, provide the reason why: it was clear the turnout in Sydney was a direct result of the oppression in Hong Kong.

There were the solemn acts of remembrance normally associated with June 4 vigils – the lighting of candles and touching speeches recounting the tragedies of 1989 – but as the evening wore on the mood shifted to a defiance and distinct anti-CCP theme.

The crowd marched around the Chinese Consulate singing “Glory To Hong Kong” and the chants associated with the pro-democracy movement, most wearing black and some waving Hong Kong independence flags – each person patently aware that all of these acts could result in jail at home – it was a reminder that, for all of its diplomatic attempts at coercion abroad, and its violent and cynical crackdowns in Hong Kong, the CCP cannot directly stop protests in Australia.

The CCP’s tightening of the screws in Hong Kong has given a sense of urgency and renewed purpose to those who are still fighting abroad.

This new frontier of activism is one that the CCP will not only struggle to control, but by its actions in Hong Kong, is driving through its harsh crackdown in Hong Kong.

By its heavy-handed and absurd actions in Hong Kong – depicted and spread around the world in photos like that of police surrounding an electronic candle in a MTR station, and officers six deep “protecting” an empty and floodlit Victoria Park – authorities brought even more attention to a date they want us all to forget all together.

Rather than appearing strong, the CCP is once again coming off as deeply insecure and overly sensitive.

The strong and vocal turnout at the Sydney vigil could be the new norm as restrictions on social gatherings are eased due to vaccine rollout (Sydney is all but COVID-free, with no social distance restrictions) and as political figureheads in exile like Ted Hui – now based in the southern state capital of Adelaide – become more established in their communities we can expect to see more events.

Next Sunday’s second anniversary of the events of “612” will bring another wave of anti-CCP protests across the world as those willing to stand with Hong Kong gather in 17 countries in a “Global Campaign for Hong Kong.”

In Sydney a group called “NSW Hongkongers” (thus named for the state of New South Wales, of which Sydney is capital) will hold a rally on the steps of Sydney Town Hall.

The group was formed on June 12, 2019, and has held many events in Australia and last year held a fundraising drive to send a message of support to Apple Daily and the people of Hong Kong.

The shrinking space for dissent in Hong Kong and silencing of opposition voices in Hong Kong have given its members a renewed sense of purpose and this is reflected by the 612 Sydney protest theme of “”Be the voice for the voiceless – Stand up against the CCP”

“I feel even more compelled to help … we have to be the voice for the voiceless,” said one member of the Sydney-based group. “For us who are on Australian soil, it is a country with freedoms of speech and expression and for all of us that are overseas it is to keep the movement alive.”

“We live in Australia which is a country that values human rights. With the National Security Law in place, so many people in Hong Kong have been silenced but we live in a country that still has freedom, so we have to be the more vocal ones.”

The new wave of foreign activism presents a challenge that the CCP seems ill equipped to deal with. Two years ago protests like the one in Sydney this weekend were met with well-organized “counter protests” from red flag waving members of the Chinese community, but public sentiment has turned on the CCP since then and awareness of the situation in Hong Kong has grown. CCP propaganda and taunts from the so-called “wolf warrior” diplomats have worn thin. If the June 4 vigil – or future events – were disrupted by pro-CCP mobs it would be widely condemned by both sides of politics and media.

Hongkongers abroad are a uniquely powerful voice – they can speak with clarity and authority on the existential threat posed by the CCP. Most importantly, they now operate in a space still protected by democratic rights. Silencing them, for now, is beyond the reach of even the CCP.

(Michael Cox is a journalist and Hong Kong permanent resident currently based in Australia. He has previously written for the South China Morning Post, The Age (Melbourne) and Australian Associated Press.)

From today onwards, Michael Cox’s article can be found in our Columnist section.

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