This year marks the 36th anniversary of the June 4th incident, and former Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Chow Hang-tung, who was imprisoned in memory of the victims of June 4th, recently stated that she would fast for 36 hours in prison to commemorate the event. According to a post by Chow Hang-tung on the Patreon blog on June 6th, she appears to have been punished for this and placed in solitary confinement.
Chow Hang-tung wrote on the Patreon blog, expressing gratitude to all sectors for commemorating and mourning June 4th in their own ways. She has completed the fast but feels a bit tired, with no major impact on her health.
Chow Hang-tung also revealed that she is currently held in solitary confinement, with only a bed and the song “With the Freedom Flower” that the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China sings every year at the June 4th candlelight vigil. She posted this song, wishing the Tiananmen Mothers, the deceased June 4th democratic activist Li Wangyang, her comrades, and their families peace and freedom.
This year marks the third year that Chow Hang-tung has fasted in prison to commemorate June 4th.
Since 1990, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China has organized the June 4th candlelight vigil at Victoria Park in Hong Kong every year, commemorating the victims suppressed in the Tiananmen Square incident, until the last one held in 2019. After the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, June 4th commemorative activities were banned.
As a barrister, Chow Hang-tung was arrested on June 4, 2021, for suggesting on social media to light candles to commemorate June 4th, charged with “inciting unauthorized assembly.” She has been in custody since September 2021, awaiting trial for the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China’s “incitement to subvert state power” case scheduled to start in November this year.