June 4 vigil organizer launches crowdfunding campaign for virtual museum
蘋果日報 2020/06/07 13:12
The organizer for Hong Kong’s annual June 4 vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for a digital museum, amidst growing fears that a national security law would force the group to shut down.
Lee Cheuk-yan, chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, said they aim to raise HK$1.5 million (US$193,537) to build a June 4th Museum of Memory and Human Rights, a permanent online archive to commemorate the incident.
The virtual museum, to be launched in September 2021, would preserve historical archives and relics of victims from the 1989 crackdown in Beijing, in which thousands were said to have been killed although there has never been an official death toll.
The group would collect historical documents, diaries, audio recordings and video footage from university libraries and government archives around the world and translate them into English.
Lee, who announced the Kickstarter campaign during a press conference on Saturday, said there was an urgent need to set up the digital museum now more than ever.
“We don’t know what kind of suppression the group will face when the national security law comes into effect. The outlook for the future is really unstable,” Lee said.
The National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, voted to enact a national security law customized for Hong Kong that would ban secession, subversion, terrorism, and foreign interference in the city.
The passing of the law, which would bypass Hong Kong’s legislature, could come as early as the end of this month.
The funds from the campaign, which runs for 60 days until August, would also go towards inviting scholars and artists to design online interactive exhibitions. The virtual museum will also be open source to help others build similar online human rights museums, the group said.
Lee said he was confident the crowdfunding campaign would be successful as the June 4 vigil this year had received an “unprecedented level” of attention.
Thousands of people in Hong Kong defied a police ban of the 31st anniversary of the crackdown in Victoria Park on Thursday.
The ban, which was issued over health concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meant that the group was unable to raise funds in the park like they had in previous years.
The group, whose annual expenditure reaches HK$1.7 million (US$219,342), was only able to raise HK$800,000 (US$103,200) this year.
When asked if the virtual museum would become a target for mainland Chinese online hackers, the group said that the data would be encrypted and they would ensure the physical records would be well protected.
The alliance is also in charge of setting up the June 4th Museum located in Mong Kok, which hosts exhibitions and carries relics from victims. The group said the museum has been on the receiving end of harassment, intimidation and vandalism over the years.
Lee Cheuk-yan, chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, said they aim to raise HK$1.5 million (US$193,537) to build a June 4th Museum of Memory and Human Rights, a permanent online archive to commemorate the incident.
The virtual museum, to be launched in September 2021, would preserve historical archives and relics of victims from the 1989 crackdown in Beijing, in which thousands were said to have been killed although there has never been an official death toll.
The group would collect historical documents, diaries, audio recordings and video footage from university libraries and government archives around the world and translate them into English.
Lee, who announced the Kickstarter campaign during a press conference on Saturday, said there was an urgent need to set up the digital museum now more than ever.
“We don’t know what kind of suppression the group will face when the national security law comes into effect. The outlook for the future is really unstable,” Lee said.
The National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, voted to enact a national security law customized for Hong Kong that would ban secession, subversion, terrorism, and foreign interference in the city.
The passing of the law, which would bypass Hong Kong’s legislature, could come as early as the end of this month.
The funds from the campaign, which runs for 60 days until August, would also go towards inviting scholars and artists to design online interactive exhibitions. The virtual museum will also be open source to help others build similar online human rights museums, the group said.
Lee said he was confident the crowdfunding campaign would be successful as the June 4 vigil this year had received an “unprecedented level” of attention.
Thousands of people in Hong Kong defied a police ban of the 31st anniversary of the crackdown in Victoria Park on Thursday.
The ban, which was issued over health concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meant that the group was unable to raise funds in the park like they had in previous years.
The group, whose annual expenditure reaches HK$1.7 million (US$219,342), was only able to raise HK$800,000 (US$103,200) this year.
When asked if the virtual museum would become a target for mainland Chinese online hackers, the group said that the data would be encrypted and they would ensure the physical records would be well protected.
The alliance is also in charge of setting up the June 4th Museum located in Mong Kok, which hosts exhibitions and carries relics from victims. The group said the museum has been on the receiving end of harassment, intimidation and vandalism over the years.
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