1/1/2023 0 Comments Tiananmen square aftermath![]() ![]() This direct lobbying done by activists like Joshua Wong, a recently imprisoned former secretary-general of the pro-democracy party Demosisto, could now be considered illegal collusion. Of course, these expansive definitions are kind of the point.Īctivists in Hong Kong have asked foreign governments to intervene in disputes with China, including during the recent extradition bill protests, where it was not uncommon to see American and British flags among protesters. The Chinese government has blamed outsiders, specifically those in the West, for fomenting opposition against its rule in Hong Kong, and this looks to be a way to silence its critics. This could implicate human rights groups, or even individuals who have called for sanctions or increased pressure on China to stop its intervention in Hong Kong. Tiananmen square aftermath free#On July 1, 2019, Hongkongers stormed and defaced the Hong Kong Legislative Council to protest the extradition bill, making this provision look very much like a response to previous protest tactics.Īnother example: Under the “colluding with foreign forces” provision, the law says Hongkongers could be arrested and prosecuted if they lobby or work with foreign entities against the Chinese government, including “enacting laws and policies that cause serious obstruction or serious consequences to Hong Kong or China,” according to the Hong Kong Free Press. For example, damaging government buildings could qualify as “subversion,” a serious offense that could result in life imprisonment. Under each of these activities are some specific offenses. Critics of the bill, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have called the text a threat to free speech and overly broad.Īs Vox’s Jen Kirby wrote in 2020 after the passage of the law: ![]() The law’s 66 articles criminalize acts that fall into four categories: secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion. Tiananmen square aftermath full#When the Chinese government passed the national security law for Hong Kong in June of 2020, the full text of the legislation was kept secret - even from Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the top public official in Hong Kong. Political activist Chow Hang Tung speaks to the media after being arrested in Hong Kong on June 5. ![]() She was arrested for promoting an unauthorized assembly and was released from custody on Saturday. Chow, who is also a lawyer, predicted that she would be arrested in an interview before June 4. Among other posts promoting the memory of Tiananmen Square, Chow called for people to “turn on lights everywhere, mobile phone lights, candles, electronic candles…” on her Facebook page the day before her arrest. The morning of June 4, the vice chair for the pro-democracy group Hong Kong Alliance, Chow Hang Tung, was arrested for posting about the remembrance online. A new law, to which Hong Kong officials weren’t privy But since then, the Chinese government passed a new security law, which makes it easier to punish protesters and gives the mainland more control over Hong Kong. It was the first time the Hong Kong government had tried to stop the demonstration in 30 years. Last year, when police closed Victoria Park to the Tiananmen Square commemoration, demonstrators knocked down the barricades and continued their candlelight vigil. But activists told the BBC that they see this year’s intervention as a step to silence dissent on the island, one of the few places in China where the 1989 Tiananmen Square activists have been allowed to be commemorated. Officially, 2021’s Tiananmen Square remembrance was canceled by the local government because of the coronavirus pandemic, as it was last year. But this year, Hongkongers who dared to show up in person were met with signs from police warning of their possible prosecution, and Victoria Park was barricaded shut. Victoria Park, in northern Hong Kong, usually draws thousands of people waving candles to memorialize the still-unknown number of people who died during the Chinese government’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. In the face of a new national security law and the arrests of political activists, people in Hong Kong still took to the streets on June 4 to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. ![]()
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