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Analysis: A Changed Hong Kong Is Stamping Out Memories of the Tiananmen Square Massacre

In the News:

• Hong Kong
• Censorship and surveillance
• Harassment and detentions 
• Beyond China

As the anniversary approached, authorities heaped new charges on a jailed vigil organizer.  

By Yaqiu Wang

Last week, Hong Kong authorities announced that they had arrested seven people for posting “seditious” messages on social media. According to local media reports, those arrested include Chow Hang-tung, a prominent human rights lawyer who was already behind bars, and the posts in question concerned the commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

The Chinese Communist Party’s domestic censorship surrounding the events of June 1989, when the military crushed prodemocracy protests in Beijing and elsewhere, is well known internationally. Its efforts have been so thorough that most young people in China today have no idea that the massacre ever happened, even though the image of the “Tank Man” has become an instantly recognizable symbol of resistance outside the country.

And now the same erasure of Tiananmen is underway in Hong Kong. For three decades, the former British colony of seven million people was the only place within China where talking about the atrocity was allowed.

The recent arrests were the Hong Kong government’s first application of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, or Article 23, which was adopted in March by the Legislative Council. The council itself, once a place of vigorous debate, has been reduced to a rubber-stamp body in the years since Beijing imposed its own draconian National Security Law (NSL) on the territory in July 2020. During the same period, Hong Kong authorities have pursued a crackdown on free speech with astounding speed and intensity, all under the guise of “national security.”

Beijing’s determination to crush Hong Kong’s freedoms and to erase history is illustrated by the multiple, years-long prosecutions against Chow. However, Chow’s courage and resolve in the face of this repression exemplify Hong Kongers’ collective determination to fight back.

Chow has been in custody since September 2021, when police arrested her for “inciting subversion” under the NSL. At the time, she was the vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which had been the organizer of the annual Tiananmen Square massacre vigil on June 4 at Victoria Park since the first anniversary in 1990.

Authorities banned the vigil for the first time in 2020, citing public health restrictions related to COVID-19. Despite the ban, thousands lit candles across Hong Kong in 2020. Smaller crowds did the same when the ban was repeated in 2021.

In December 2021 and January 2022, Chow was sentenced to a total of 22 months in prison for “taking part” and “inciting others to take part” in the unauthorized vigils under Hong Kong’s Public Order Ordinance. In March 2023, she received another 4.5 months for failing to provide authorities with information on the Alliance under the NSL.

While the main prosecution against Chow for “inciting subversion” under the NSL, for which she faces up to 10 years in prison, is still pending, authorities have now added the new charge of “sedition” under Article 23, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.

The alleged “seditious” messages that “incited hatred” were posts on a Facebook page called “ChowHangTungClub.” Apparently written by Chow, they explain how she became involved with the Alliance. Chow’s mother was one of the seven people arrested. The Hong Kong government’s cruel guilt-by-association tactics are consistent with a long-running practice on the mainland.

The fact that the authorities keep throwing new charges at Chow for the one thing she did—organize commemorations to honor those killed by their government for peacefully demanding freedom and democracy—only speaks to the insecurity that she inspires in her own government and in Beijing.

While others arrested under the NSL chose to plead guilty and accepted gag orders in exchange for shorter prison sentences or bail releases, Chow refuses to be silenced even behind bars. She wrote in a 2021 letter from her cell to her supporters: “I reject [the characterization of me as] unfortunate…. It is actually a great fortune to be able to fight for one’s own ideas. How many people in the world have such an opportunity? Against the biggest communist dictatorship in the world, no less. What a challenge.”

The last time I saw Chow Hang-tung was in a crowed restaurant in Hong Kong at the end of 2019, when local prodemocracy protests were raging. I’ve forgotten what we said to each other, but I will always remember the self-assurance and serenity that radiated from someone who knew she was doing the right thing. 

Yaqiu Wang is the research director for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at Freedom House.  This article was also published by the Diplomat on June 2, 2024.

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• New report unveils Uyghur surveillance in Shanghai: Shanghai police planned to bolster surveillance infrastructure in the city, according to a May 16 report by the surveillance industry research group IPVM, with the aim of surveilling the activities of ethnic Uyghurs. Obtained documents revealed a 32 million renminbi ($4.5 million) budget allocated in 2023 for expanding the “Intelligent Image Recognition System” housed at the Shanghai Public Security Bureau Xuhui Branch. Upon the completion of upgrade, the system should be capable of creating a file for each targeted individual, including, via facial recognition technology, features such as gender, age, Uyghur identity, and the presence of glasses, as required in the project specifications.  

• Citizen journalist confirms release amid surveillance concerns: Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, jailed for four years on charges related to her COVID-19 reporting in China, confirmed her release in a May 21 video. This followed a week of silence during which, following her scheduled release May 13, she may have been subject to “non-release release”—a Chinese government practice of nominal freedom combined with strict mobility controls. Advocates fear she may now face further restrictions and surveillance amid China's escalating repression of journalists. More journalists are jailed in China than any other country, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
• Citizen journalist sees lease canceled: Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that Fang Bin, a citizen journalist sentenced to three years in prison in 2020 for publishing videos about the COVID-19 pandemic, saw his lease canceled, likely due to pressure from local police. Despite prepaying a year's rent in Wuhan's Huangpi District, the lease was abruptly terminated three days after he signed it. Fang has faced accommodation issues since his release last April. His relatives in Beijing reportedly were reluctant to provide him with shelter due to police pressure. He was also subjected to regular police visits—a tactic employed by the Chinese government to monitor dissenters—and had left his residence in Qiaokou District, Wuhan, as a result.
• Prodemocracy lyricist arrested for online statement criticizing government: On May 16, 2024, Xu Lin, a lyricist previously sentenced to three years in prison in 2017 for promoting freedom and democracy through his songs, was arrested by Guangzhou police. Xu's arrest is likely linked to a statement he posted online in early May, criticizing CCP persecution and stating that if he is arrested again, the government's only reliable communication to his family would be an official death notice. Police reportedly requested to search his residence after his arrest; Xu's wife was then detained for requesting a search warrant. Afterward, police searched the premises and confiscated electronic devices and personal items belonging to Xu.
• Officials expelled from CCP, arrested for banned publications and other charges: In May, Zhang Hongli, former deputy governor of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, was expelled from the Communist Party and arrested on various charges, including “possessing books associated with serious political problems,” and resisting organizational investigation. Similarly, An Qingsong, the former president of the China Futures Industry Association, was removed from the Communist Party and his official position. He faces charges of partaking in "feudal superstition activities" and also of "possessing and reading books associated with serious political problems." He additionally faces charges related to economic crimes.

• Exiled activist faces continued repression: Wei Yani, a human rights activist known for exposing Chinese government corruption and oppression, and who has served multiple jail terms, was granted refugee protection in Canada in April. However, she still reportedly faces intimidation and harassment from the Chinese government. Since last month, Wei has received several threatening phone calls from an individual claiming to be “Xu, from the Fujian Public Security Bureau,” who demanded her return to China and threatened to forcibly bring her back from Canada. Wei's targeting is likely due to her current human rights work, gathering evidence of Chinese authorities' oppression for submission to the UN Human Rights Council, which will review China's human rights situation on June 18. According to Freedom House, the CCP is among the top practitioners of transnational repression, when governments reach across borders in attempts to silence dissidents abroad. 
• United Kingdom charges three men with Hong Kong-linked spying: On May 10, the UK government charged three men with aiding Hong Kong government intelligence through information gathering, surveillance, and deceptive acts from December 2023 to May 2024, citing national security threats. One codefendant, who was out on bail, died on May 19; the cause of death has not been disclosed. The trial for the remaining two individuals is scheduled to commence in February 2025.
• Worldwide commemorations keep June 4 memory alive: Amid tight censorship in mainland China and Hong Kong, global efforts persist in commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. In Taiwan, an art exhibition featuring 18 international artists opened on May 23, and will lead to a commemoration event at Liberty Square in Taipei on June 4 calling for global attention to CCP totalitarianism. On May 26, a seminar at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in San Francisco drew over a hundred activists and scholars to discuss civil resistance and democratic transitions. The same day in Vancouver, about 200 participants protested at the Chinese consulate during a "march for democracy," while activists organized seminars and documentary screenings to raise awareness about the Tiananmen massacre.

• Access uncensored content: Find an overview comparing popular circumvention tools and information on how to access them via GreatFire.org, here or here. Learn more about how to reach uncensored content and enhance digital security here. 
• Support a prisoner: Learn how to take action to help journalists and free expression activists, including those featured in past issues of the China Media Bulletin here.
• Visit the China Media Bulletin Resources section: Learn more about how policymakers, media outlets, educators, and donors can help advance free expression in China and beyond via a new resource section on the Freedom House website.