On the 35th anniversary of the June 4th incident, Hong Kong was engulfed in a white terror that brooked no candlelight. Openly mourning the event has become a prohibited activity as fear permeated the atmosphere in Causeway Bay. Despite this, the people of Hong Kong have not forgotten, and the candlelight of remembrance continues to shine around the world.
In Birmingham, UK, where tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents are settled, a candlelight vigil for June 4th was held at 8:30 p.m. in Chinatown yesterday evening. The event was organized by the British Hong Kongers Association and West Midlands Hongkonger Support CIC, with over 200 Hong Kongers in attendance. Prior to the start of the vigil, there was a heavy rainstorm, but luckily the weather cleared up just half an hour before the event, revealing a blue sky with white clouds.
At the venue, the organizers displayed a 9-meter-long banner titled “Pillar of National Mourning” created by artist High Chi-wo, with electronic candles placed at the bottom. The vigil began with a retrospective of the events of June 4th, with former Sha Tin District Councillor Au Man-chun reading out a statement from the former deputy chairman of the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Alliance), Zhou Xing-tong, during her resistance to disclosing information. A minute of silence was observed for the victims, followed by the playing of recorded messages from Tiananmen Mothers, democracy activist Wang Dan, former Legislative Council member Nathan Law, and British Hong Kongers Association Chairman Zheng Wen-jie. The event concluded with the laying of flowers and the lighting of candles in memory of the democratic martyrs.
In his recorded message, Nathan Law expressed particular poignancy and heaviness about this year’s June 4th. He mentioned that several key members of the Alliance, including Zhou Xing-tong, Benny Tai, and Chow Hang-tung, are still imprisoned, expressing uncertainty about whether he will ever see them again, stating, “I don’t know when I will be able to see them again, or if I will see them in my lifetime.”
In the past, the Alliance was responsible for organizing the June 4th vigils, with hundreds of thousands of people lighting candles in Victoria Park, Hong Kong. Now, the Alliance has been forced to disband. Law asserted that Hong Kongers living abroad bear a responsibility to carry on the torch of remembrance, emphasizing the need for continued activism in defense of freedom and truth, even in the absence of prominent figures like him or the organizers. Law expressed hope that those present would uphold these principles.
Participant K, who wore a helmet and protective gear to the event, shared that Hong Kongers living overseas have a duty to keep the candlelight burning, serving as a reminder to themselves. K expressed reluctance to forget the anger that led him to leave his homeland and start anew 9,000 kilometers away.
A native of Hong Kong, K witnessed the city’s deterioration with a heavy heart, acknowledging that “Hong Kong is no longer what it used to be.” Reflecting on the increasing control the Chinese Communist Party exerts over Hong Kong, he deemed the situation today as the inevitable consequence of escalating authoritarianism.
Mr. Yu and several friends attended the vigil, with Mr. Yu noting that the June 4th incident served as his political awakening, as he had been participating in the Victoria Park candlelight vigils since he was a teenager. He emphasized that for many Hong Kongers, this event marked the beginning of their democratic consciousness. Mr. Yu lamented the increasingly oppressive political climate in Hong Kong, stating that the absurdity of the current situation made it unbearable, admitting that the decision to leave was made out of a sense of despair and heartache.
This year marked not just the 35th anniversary of the June 4th incident but also the first commemoration since the passage of the National Security Law. Au Man-chun noted an increased turnout at this year’s vigil, attributing it to the prevailing atmosphere in Hong Kong. He expressed anger at the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on memorials, targeting unarmed citizens, and stated that the true perpetrators of chaos in Hong Kong were the authorities themselves, whose irrational actions were being observed by the world. Despite this, Au emphasized that the spirit of Hong Kongers in the pursuit of democracy and freedom remained strong, declaring their commitment to upholding these values.
Earlier, British authorities arrested and charged three individuals, accusing them of assisting intelligence agencies related to Hong Kong and committing foreign interference crimes. Among them was Yuan Song-biao, the executive manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, who surveilled exiled Hong Kongers like Nathan Law and Ray Wong. Faced with increasingly severe cross-border crackdowns, many Hong Kongers at this year’s June 4th vigil wore masks to protect themselves. Au Man-chun, as a political figure, expressed concerns about surveillance and monitoring, acknowledging that his family was all in the UK. Despite early instances of being photographed or surveilled during street activities, seeing others bravely continuing to organize events for Hong Kongers abroad made him feel less isolated.