Former Hong Kong Vigil Organizer Discreetly Marks Tiananmen Crackdown Anniversary
In Hong Kong, 58-year-old pro-democracy activist Tang Ngok-kwan continues to discreetly visit former memorial sites to commemorate Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. According to reporting by the Associated Press, Tang’s actions persist even after government-approved judges convicted two of his former colleagues and their vigil-organizing group under a Beijing-imposed national security law.
For decades, tens of thousands gathered annually at Victoria Park for the only large-scale public commemoration of the crackdown in China. Today, those public gatherings are gone, banned initially in 2020, citing risks to public health during the COVID-19 pandemic before the imposition of a security law.
Decades of Dedication and the Shadow of 1989
Tang’s connection to the movement stretches back to May 1989. As an ordinary young man, he joined a wave of people who marched in Hong Kong supporting student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing. When tanks rolled into the heart of Beijing on the night of June 3-4, leaving hundreds, possibly thousands dead, Tang didn’t sleep.
Following these events, supporters of the demonstrators and figures from the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China took action.
That sense of responsibility transformed Tang from a volunteer into a core member of the alliance.
Legal Fallout and the National Security Verdict
The culmination arrived on a Friday when government-approved judges convicted two former colleagues under the national security law. According to the court’s decision, the two individuals had used unlawful means to incite others into attempting to overthrow the leadership of China’s Communist Party. These defendants now face a maximum prison term of 10 years, while the organizing group itself was found guilty.
Discreet Commemoration in a Transformed City
Public markers of the 1989 crackdown have vanished. Commemorative sculptures, including the statue of the Goddess of Democracy placed at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, have vanished. Victoria Park stands empty of candlelight on anniversaries.
Despite these erasures, Tang continues his individual routine. On the eve of the anniversary, he visits Victoria Park, bows, and reads a list of victims in a low voice. He also visits university campus sites where sculptures once stood. In a conversation with the Associated Press concerning the latest court rulings, Tang stated that the rationale behind the verdict failed to persuade him and expressed a sense of injustice on behalf of the individuals who were found guilty.
He also observed a chilling effect across the community. Mentioning the alliance now brings a sense of wariness around it.