(New York) ChinaAid signed a joint press release today with 60 other organizations denouncing the arrest of Hong Kong Alliance leadership on September 9th. |
Beijing Seeking to Erase
Memory of 1989 Tiananmen Massacre
Hong Kong’s government should drop all charges against leaders of the civic group that had been holding annual mass vigils in Victoria Park commemorating the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre in China, 61 Hong Kong and international human rights groups said today.
“By arresting vigil organizers, Beijing and Hong Kong authorities are telling the world they’re not only afraid of the most peaceful protests, but also of their own brutal past,” said Sophie Richardson, China Director at Human Rights Watch. “They should end this political persecution and immediately drop the charges and release the vigil organizers.”
The government stepped up its intimidation campaign in 2021. On June 2, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department declared that the Alliance’s “June 4th Museum,” which focuses on the Tiananmen crackdown, had violated the law for not having a “public entertainment” permit, compelling the Alliance to temporarily close the museum.
On June 4, the police arrested Chow for “inciting unauthorized assembly” after she urged people to mark the Tiananmen Massacre by lighting candles. The police also blocked off the park and stationed thousands of officers throughout the city to prevent any gatherings.
On September 9, police raided the shuttered June 4th Museum and removed some of the exhibits, including photos of previous Victoria Park vigils and an oversized paper cutout of the Goddess of Democracy, a statue that had featured in the 1989 pro-democracy protests in China. On September 10, police froze HK$2.2 million (US$ 282,850) worth of assets of the Alliance. On the same day, the Hong Kong secretary for security informed the Alliance that the government is planning to revoke the Alliance’s registration with the Company Registrar, which will effectively disband the group.
Human rights and fundamental freedoms are enshrined in Hong Kong’s de facto constitution, the Basic Law. These rights are also guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which is incorporated into Hong Kong’s legal framework via the Basic Law and expressed in the Bill of Rights Ordinance. The ICCPR protects the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, among other basic liberties.
Concerned governments should impose coordinated, targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Police Commissioner Raymond Siu, Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung and other Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for the attacks on the Hong Kong Alliance, the groups said. Those governments should also issue coordinated public statements expressing concern about attacks on civic groups more generally. Over the long term, they should provide assistance to groups outside Hong Kong and China to archive and publish materials, including slogans, artworks, and political content, that are now banned or barred in Hong Kong, particularly those related to the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre.
“Hong Kong and mainland authorities should not be able to ban commemorations, shutter museums, and jail peaceful critics without paying a price,” Jianli Yang, founder and president of Citizen Power Initiatives for China, said. “Governments appalled by the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong should make their opposition felt.”
List of Group Signatories:
1. Action Free Hong Kong Montreal
2. Alliance Canada Hong Kong
3. Association of the New School for Democracy
4. Bay Area Friends of Tibet
5. Boston Tibet Network
6. Cambridge Stands With Hong Kong (UK)
7. Cadal – Argentina
8. Canada-Hong Kong Link
9. China Aid Association
10. China Against the Death Penalty
11. China Change
12. China Political Prisoners Concern Group, HK
13. Citizen Power Initiatives for China
14. Comité pour la Liberté à Hong Kong
15. D4HK (UK)
16. DC4HK
17. Dialogue China
18. ECO Tibet Ireland
19. Freedom House
20. Germany Stands with Hong Kong
21. Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM)
22. Grupo de Apoio ao Tibete-Portugal
23. Hong Kong Committee in Norway
24. Hong Kong Committee in Norway
25. Hong Kong Democracy Council
26. Hong Kong Forum, Los Angeles
27. Hong Kong Social Action Movements in Boston
28. Hong Kong Watch
29. Human Rights in China
30. Human Rights Watch
31. Humanitarian China
32. International Campaign for Tibet
33. International Service for Human Rights
34. International Society for Human Rights, Munich Chapter
35. International Tibet Network
36. Judicial Reform Foundation
37. Kong Club
38. LUNGTA – Actief voor Tibet
39. Netherlands for Hong Kong
40. New Yorkers Supporting Hong Kong (NY4HK)
41. Northern California Hong
42. Safeguard Defenders
43. Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet
44. Students for a Free Tibet
45. Swedish Tibet Committee
46. Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association
47. Taiwan Association for Human Rights, TAHR
48. Taiwan Hong Kong Association
49. Taiwan Forever Association, TFA
50. Taiwan Support China Human Rights Lawyers Network
51. The Taiwan United Nations Alliance
52. The Tibet Support Committee, Denmark
53. Tibet Initiative Deutschland
54. Tibet Justice Center
55. Toronto Association for Democracy in China
56. Torontonian HongKongers Action Group
57. US-Tibet Committee
58. Uyghur Human Rights Project
59. Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
60. Vancouver Hong Kong Forum Society
61. Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement