Hong Kong police arrested several pro-democracy activists on Sunday, the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
AFP correspondents reported that at least 8 people were arrested, including Alexandra Wong, a well-known pro-democracy activist also known as “Grandma Wong”.
She carried flowers in the shopping district of Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, where commemorations of the Tiananmen Square massacre have been held for years. Chinese police surrounded the 67-year-old woman and took her away in their minibus. Accompanied by the police, she held the flowers high and did not resist.
China deployed a large police force to Hong Kong over the weekend, with officers arresting people, questioning them and searching their property.
34 years ago, in 1989. On June 4, the Chinese communist government sent troops and tanks to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to disperse peaceful protesters seeking political change.
It is estimated that hundreds or even more than 1,000 protesters were killed when the soldiers opened fire. The communist government bans the commemoration of the anniversary of the massacre in mainland China.
At the time, Hong Kong was for a long time the only Chinese city where major events were held to commemorate the victims. Since 1990 Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Victoria Park for these commemorations.
Hong Kong belonged to the United Kingdom, but in 1997 was transferred to China on July 1. The city became a special administrative region in the 1950s, which had to maintain a separate economic and administrative system from Beijing, but Beijing expanded its influence.
in 2020 Beijing passed the law to suppress dissent after large pro-democracy protests took place in Hong Kong’s financial hub. Since then, commemorative demonstrations have been banned and their organizers arrested and tried.
Source: The Delfi
