當年今日
關於我們

Hong Kong police mobilize 3,000 officers to stop Tiananmen vigil at Victoria Park

蘋果日報 2021/06/02 19:07


The Hong Kong police will deploy more than 3,000 officers at Victoria Park on Friday to make arrests and stop any public attempts at commemorating Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Apple Daily has learned.
Authorities earlier forbade the organization of the June 4 candlelight vigil at the Causeway Bay park for the second year in a row, citing the pandemic.
On the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen military crackdown this Friday, the park will be marked with restricted areas covering the football pitches and the central lawn, according to sources. People wearing black clothes, holding a candle and chanting slogans related to June 4 might be considered as part of the banned rally, with officers on hand to record videos and dish out warnings, the sources said.
Police might arrest people who did not leave after a warning, the sources said. People who left could also be subjected to the police’s follow-up action, such as taking them into custody on the basis of the on-site videos and other evidence drawn from the scene, after consulting the Department of Justice, the sources added.
The bulk of the deployment will be from the Hong Kong Island Response Contingent.
When asked by Apple Daily, the force said it would deploy adequate manpower to relevant locations and enforce the law swiftly. The police urged the public not to attend or promote unauthorized assemblies or banned gatherings, to avoid spreading the virus.
Officers would also be assigned to other areas on Friday, such as the Tsim Sha Tsui harborfront and Beijing’s liaison office in Sai Wan, where people had protested on June 4 in the previous years, RTHK and Sing Tao Daily cited sources saying. Residents marking the massacre in places other than Victoria Park could be fined under social distancing laws, the sources said.
Ronny Tong, member of the Executive Council, said on a radio talk show on Wednesday that it might not be illegal for one person to wear black or chant slogans such as “end one-party dictatorship,” but it could be deemed a violation under national security laws if a group of people made plans to do such things together, which would amount to using illegal means to incite subversion.
He suggested that the public could mourn the June 4 incident but did not have to show up at Victoria Park, wear black or chant slogans. People should respect the law and the constitutional order, he added.
A call to end one-party dictatorship is one of the five main principles of the vigil organizer, Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. Under the Societies Ordinance, the Security Bureau has the power to outlaw the alliance if it has concrete proof showing the body endangered national security, Tong said.
The pro-independence Hong Kong National Party was banned based on the same rationale, he added.
Click here for Chinese version
Click here for Chinese version
---------------------------------
Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE
To download the latest version,
Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play