The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organizes the annual June 4 vigil in memorial of the Tiananmen Square massacre, has downsized its committee amid the worsening political climate under the national security law.

The pro-democracy group elected 14 executive members on Sunday, down from 20.

“Reducing the number of committee members is to simplify the structure and increase the efficiency of the Alliance’s decision making, considering the growing risks of being on board under the national security law,” said Lee Cheuk-yan, who remains the chairperson. “If issues arise with the Alliance, someone can step up to continue the work,” he added.

Vice chairpersons Albert Ho and Chow Hang Tung, and secretary Richard Tsoi are among those who remain on the board, while its spokespersons now include district councilor Simon Leung and Mak Hoi-wah, who heads the management committee of the June 4th Museum.

With the uncertainties ahead under the new law, the group has made contingency plans, including transferring part of the historical documents to be stored overseas and deleting name lists of volunteers. It is also digitizing the June 4th Museum and storing the collection on a cloud server.

In the 31 years since its founding, the Alliance faced the greatest pressure this year, however, it will continue to uphold its five missions and “will not back down or give up,” said Lee.

Thousands have gathered for the annual vigil this year, even though police have banned the event for the first time in 30 years, citing coronavirus threats. 11 committee members were later charged with inciting others to join or taking part in an unauthorized assembly.

The group noted that the abuse of arrest, a government tactic to rule Hong Kong by fear, has become the norm in the city. But the newly elected committee vows to stand fearlessly against the crackdown as well as through their defense in court and reclaim Hongkongers’ rights to hold assembly.

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