Hong Kong police make first arrests at Tiananmen Square vigils

Hong Kong police have arrested a prominent barrister for allegedly promoting an unauthorised protest on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, as thousands of officers were deployed to enforce a ban on protests and gatherings across the city.

Hong Kong deployed 7,000 police to prevent protests, but human rights groups have continued to urge authorities to let residents express their views peacefully.

The operation includes dispatching some 3,000 officers near Victoria Park, the site of an annual vigil commemorating the 1989 incident.

While the police wouldn’t confirm the number of officers attending, a spokesperson says there will be enough police at the vigil.

Authorities arrested Hong Kong barrister and activist Chow Hang Tung, vice-chairwoman of the group which organises annual vigils for the victims of China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Chow was arrested for promoting an unauthorised assembly

Discussion of Beijing’s brutal military crackdown on the evening of 3 June and morning of 4 June in 1989 is all but forbidden on the mainland.

Hong Kong’s traditional status as the only place in China where large-scale commemorations were tolerated appeared to be coming to an end.

Authorities banned this year’s gathering citing the coronavirus pandemic – although Hong Kong has not recorded an untraceable local transmission in more than a month, and has continued to hold large public events.

Police have also cited the national security law in warning people not to gather for unnamed events and reminded the public of the recent convictions of some activists.