HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police have arrested a performance artist on the eve of the 35th anniversary of The Chinese crackdown on Tiananmen Squarewhich points to the declining freedom of expression in the city.
Police took Sanmu Chen on Monday from a street in Causeway Bay, a busy shopping district in Hong Kong, close to a park where for decades an annual vigil has been held to mourn the victims of the 1989 crackdown.
Before officers approached Chen, he mimicked the act of drinking in front of a police van. It also looked like he was drawing or writing something in the air.
It is unclear whether police have formally arrested him. On the same day last year, Chen was also there stopped by the police around the same area after chanting “Hong Kongers, don’t be afraid. Remember, tomorrow is June 4.”
The police did not immediately respond.
For decades, the vigil in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park has drawn thousands of people every June 4 to commemorate the crackdown in which government forces opened fire on student-led pro-democracy protesters, killing hundreds, if not thousands.
But the wake does disappeared under the shadow of a national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020. Critics say its disappearance has illustrated that the freedoms that promised to remain intact in Hong Kong for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 have been drastically eroded.
After the law came into effect, the group that organized the vigil disbanded. So were three of the former leaders, including activist Chow Hang-tung accused of subversion under the far-reaching law. Tiananmen related images were also deleted from universities.
Like last year, Victoria Park will host a carnival on Tuesday by pro-Beijing groups.
The governments of Beijing and Hong Kong have insisted the law helped restore stability to the city after massive anti-government protests in 2019.
Earlier on Monday, police arrested an eighth person on suspicion of alleged sedition for posting content on social media about the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown under a new domestic national security law. Among the suspects in the case is activist Chow, who is now in custody.
Several of the city’s pro-democracy activists told The Associated Press that police have inquired about their plans for Tuesday. At least one activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about government retaliation, said they were asked not to go to “sensitive places.”
On Sunday, a Christian newspaper, which typically publishes content related to the event ahead of the anniversary, left the front page largely blank in its latest issue. It said it was responding to the current situation by turning words into empty squares and white space.
Last week, Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Stephen Chow wrote an article that subtly referenced the anniversary of the crackdown, calling for forgiveness, which he said could enable “reconciliation and healing.”
Chow said the event 35 years ago was still a sore spot and needed to be handled properly, but said his faith forced him to forgive everything and everyone.
“Perhaps it is through forgiveness that all parties can escape the finger-pointing and painful mindset of ‘I will never forgive,’” he wrote.
