Last Candlelight Vigil for June 4 Massacre? (Sang Pu)
蘋果日報 2020/06/07 09:25
Consecutively for the past 30 years since 1990, Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China (the “Alliance”) hosted candlelight vigil every year at Victoria Park in the evening of June 4 for all to express condolences to the Chinese citizens who were killed by the CCP during the Tiananmen massacre in 1989. Hong Kong people do not want to remember, but dare not forget, this brutal tragedy which shocked the entire humanity. Milan Kundera mentioned his “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” that “the struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” I am confident to say that Hong Kong people have consistently passed this test and won the struggle.
This year, which is the 31st anniversary of the June 4 Massacre, amidst Hong Kong police forewarning that it will crack down any public gathering in any place of Hong Kong for its alleged purpose to control coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong people were calm, brave and fearless. Tens of thousands arrived at Victoria Park, pushed down all entrance barriers, occupied six football fields as usual, sat down, ignited candles, and attended the online candlelight vigil hosted by the Alliance on site. Many other people attended community-based candlelight vigils in around 20 other places all over Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. Such a lineup is unprecedented. Overall, all activities were peaceful and non-violent. At the exit of the Victoria Park, Hong Kong police repeatedly played pre-recorded tracks saying that all participants could be punishable due to the so-called unlawful assembly. Anyway, they produced no deterrent effect at all.
What is more sparkling are the slogans having been chanted by the participants in Victoria Park and all over Hong Kong. These slogans are no longer limited to those five operational goals firmly held by the Alliance in the past 30 years, i.e. to release the dissidents, rehabilitate the 1989 pro-democracy movement, demand accountability of the June 4 Massacre, end one-party dictatorship, build a democratic China. After the one-year pro-freedom or democracy movement in Hong Kong ever since 9 June, 2019, Hong Kong people have evolved to become stronger in our spirit and pursuit to strive for freedom, democracy, self-identity and autonomy. We regard the CCP totalitarian regime as the common culprit against those who were killed, wounded, tortured or jailed in both 1989 Beijing and 2019-20 Hong Kong. More and more Hong Kong people are determined that they can no longer stand with the CCP regime, and more fundamentally cannot stand with China.
That night, when I walked all the way through the six football fields in Victoria Park, one after the other; I could consistently hear nearly two-thirds of the participants chanting new slogans, including “One nation, one Hong Kong”, “Five demands, not one less”, “Free Hong Kong, Revolution now”, “Hong Kong independence, only way out”…etc. I noticed that those who chanted these slogans were not limited to youngsters. Many of these slogans were initiated by middle-aged and old people on site. This is really a sea change!
What is more amazing is that such pro-independence supporters, on one hand, and those who regard their self-identity as Chinese nationals (e.g. Alliance members), on the other hand, did not enter into confrontation or quarrel with each other. When the Alliance called upon observing a minute of silence in tribute at 8:09pm, everybody followed without exception. In other words, each side regards the other side as integral to the united front against the CCP regime and as comrades to strive for an autonomous, democratic and free Hong Kong, as well as demanding truth, compensation and accountability for the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. This is actually a remarkable and positive development which is different from any candlelight vigil in the past 30 years. Going forward, I would expect that, if the candlelight vigil can ever be held again in Hong Kong in the near future, such a new, hybrid and harmonious mode of candlelight vigil starting from this year might become a new normal.
But will the candlelight vigil this year be the last one? Will it still be legally permissible in the coming years? Well, these are actually two different questions. As the promulgation of the Hong Kong national security law is nearing (likely before the end of June), such a candlelight vigil can possibly be regarded as “provoking subversion” of the CCP regime and vulnerable to being cracked down after such an evil law becomes effective. Overall, CCP’s evilness and brutality to wipe out any gathering or activity, which could undermine its legitimacy and positive image, should not be underestimated. That being said, resilience and perseverance of Hong Kong people to host and participate in candlelight vigils in the future years should also not be discounted. Hong Kong people are determined to stand up to defend our own dignity and human rights against CCP, and at the same time will not forget what had happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989. Winston Churchill said “success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”; “you must put your head into the lion’s mouth if the performance is to be a success.” Hong Kong people resemble our spirits with these quotes. No matter how unlikely that candlelight vigil can still be legally permissible in the future, and no matter how enormous the hardship will be, I strongly believe that Hong Kong people will continue to host and participate in candlelight vigil every year going forward until the downfall of the CCP regime.
This year, which is the 31st anniversary of the June 4 Massacre, amidst Hong Kong police forewarning that it will crack down any public gathering in any place of Hong Kong for its alleged purpose to control coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong people were calm, brave and fearless. Tens of thousands arrived at Victoria Park, pushed down all entrance barriers, occupied six football fields as usual, sat down, ignited candles, and attended the online candlelight vigil hosted by the Alliance on site. Many other people attended community-based candlelight vigils in around 20 other places all over Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. Such a lineup is unprecedented. Overall, all activities were peaceful and non-violent. At the exit of the Victoria Park, Hong Kong police repeatedly played pre-recorded tracks saying that all participants could be punishable due to the so-called unlawful assembly. Anyway, they produced no deterrent effect at all.
What is more sparkling are the slogans having been chanted by the participants in Victoria Park and all over Hong Kong. These slogans are no longer limited to those five operational goals firmly held by the Alliance in the past 30 years, i.e. to release the dissidents, rehabilitate the 1989 pro-democracy movement, demand accountability of the June 4 Massacre, end one-party dictatorship, build a democratic China. After the one-year pro-freedom or democracy movement in Hong Kong ever since 9 June, 2019, Hong Kong people have evolved to become stronger in our spirit and pursuit to strive for freedom, democracy, self-identity and autonomy. We regard the CCP totalitarian regime as the common culprit against those who were killed, wounded, tortured or jailed in both 1989 Beijing and 2019-20 Hong Kong. More and more Hong Kong people are determined that they can no longer stand with the CCP regime, and more fundamentally cannot stand with China.
That night, when I walked all the way through the six football fields in Victoria Park, one after the other; I could consistently hear nearly two-thirds of the participants chanting new slogans, including “One nation, one Hong Kong”, “Five demands, not one less”, “Free Hong Kong, Revolution now”, “Hong Kong independence, only way out”…etc. I noticed that those who chanted these slogans were not limited to youngsters. Many of these slogans were initiated by middle-aged and old people on site. This is really a sea change!
What is more amazing is that such pro-independence supporters, on one hand, and those who regard their self-identity as Chinese nationals (e.g. Alliance members), on the other hand, did not enter into confrontation or quarrel with each other. When the Alliance called upon observing a minute of silence in tribute at 8:09pm, everybody followed without exception. In other words, each side regards the other side as integral to the united front against the CCP regime and as comrades to strive for an autonomous, democratic and free Hong Kong, as well as demanding truth, compensation and accountability for the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. This is actually a remarkable and positive development which is different from any candlelight vigil in the past 30 years. Going forward, I would expect that, if the candlelight vigil can ever be held again in Hong Kong in the near future, such a new, hybrid and harmonious mode of candlelight vigil starting from this year might become a new normal.
But will the candlelight vigil this year be the last one? Will it still be legally permissible in the coming years? Well, these are actually two different questions. As the promulgation of the Hong Kong national security law is nearing (likely before the end of June), such a candlelight vigil can possibly be regarded as “provoking subversion” of the CCP regime and vulnerable to being cracked down after such an evil law becomes effective. Overall, CCP’s evilness and brutality to wipe out any gathering or activity, which could undermine its legitimacy and positive image, should not be underestimated. That being said, resilience and perseverance of Hong Kong people to host and participate in candlelight vigils in the future years should also not be discounted. Hong Kong people are determined to stand up to defend our own dignity and human rights against CCP, and at the same time will not forget what had happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989. Winston Churchill said “success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”; “you must put your head into the lion’s mouth if the performance is to be a success.” Hong Kong people resemble our spirits with these quotes. No matter how unlikely that candlelight vigil can still be legally permissible in the future, and no matter how enormous the hardship will be, I strongly believe that Hong Kong people will continue to host and participate in candlelight vigil every year going forward until the downfall of the CCP regime.
(Sang Pu, graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree of Master of Laws, is a political commentator and host of talk shows(including RFA) and qualified lawyer in Hong Kong, Taiwan and New York State. He has been writing on topics about Hong Kong, China, Taiwan , and international politics and economy at Apple Daily and other media since 2007.)
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