(Hong Kong – June 7, 2024) June 4th, marks the 35th anniversary of the bloody “June 4th, 1989” massacre in Beijing, and the commemoration of June 4th in Hong Kong has come to a complete halt, with the risk of erasing the true history of the tragedy. The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong continued not to hold any memorial mass for the June 4th massacre this year. This is the third consecutive year of suspension.
On June 4th, 2021, the Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese organized a “Memorial Mass for the Dead” in seven churches in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories. The churches were fully occupied, and some even stood outside the churches to pay tribute to the deceased. Starting from the following year, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong no longer organized any memorial mass for the June 4th incident. And there were no longer any Catholics or members of the public lighting candles of remembrance outside the Holy Cross Church in Sai Wan Ho. At that time, the Diocese indicated that frontline workers and some members of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Diocese were concerned about the holding of memorial masses, including whether it would violate the Hong Kong National Security Law.
The Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese, which organized the “Memorial Mass for the Dead” in 2021, has now changed its name to the “Diocesan Commission for Integral Human Development” for safety reasons or perhaps in fears of retaliation in the future.
According to the Catholic Diocese, this year, the Diocese of Hong Kong has set May 24, the “The Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians,” as a special day of prayer for the Church in China and for China, and this day is also observed as the “World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.”
The June 4th Memorial Masses have been suspended, but Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-Yan, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, wrote recently that “The deadly event that occurred in the capital thirty-five years ago” still troubles many people, leaving deep trauma in their hearts. Even though it may have been covered up or scabbed over, it remains a tender spot, still requiring appropriate treatment for healing.” Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-Yan went on to say that “Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, but it can provide a prerequisite for us to enjoy inner freedom and for everyone to enjoy a brighter future.”
Through the enactment of Hong Kong’s own version of the National Security Law, the Beijing authorities have facilitated the total submission of Hong Kong society or its citizens, and have completely curbed Hong Kong society’s efforts for freedom and democracy.
Hong Kong and Macau used to be the exceptions in China where memorial services for the Tiananmen Square Massacre could be held, but the Hong Kong officials have banned such gatherings since 2020. Under the current high political pressure on all fronts, all organized June 4th commemorations have been halted, and Victoria Park, where candlelight vigils have been held in Hong Kong for more than 30 years, has been banned from hosting another memorial service for the fifth consecutive year. The police dispatched officers to Causeway Bay, where Victoria Park is located, to take away the performance artist Sanmu Chen, who mimed actions such as pouring wine on the ground and other gestures indicating tribute to the June 4th, 1989. He was later released. The public’s acts of commemoration for the June 4th massacre cannot be out in the open.
On the premise of unification with mainland China, “June 4th” has become a sensitive word in Hong Kong. In previous years, the Hong Kong Government used different excuses to prevent the commemoration of the June 4th massacre, but this year, the tone is completely consistent with that of mainland China, avoiding the use of the term “June 4th” and replacing it with the term “political turmoil of the spring and summer of 1989.” The fact that Hong Kong officially recognizes June 4th as a sensitive date also reveals the weakness of the Beijing authorities, who have so far been unwilling to face up to their own mistakes, and who have exported their unchecked power overseas.
The Church, as a sacred community called together by God, is duty-bound to remember the events of Tiananmen Square and to pay high tribute to those who were killed, detained and disappeared during the events, and to deepen the memory of them through the practice of faith, which is significant for the families of the victims, for future generations, and for the collective memory.
The outside world really cannot understand why those pro-Beijing Hong Kong officials and even Western politicians have such a low awareness of human rights and democracy. If we forget the sacrifice of the students killed in the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4th, 1989, the same thing will happen again and Beijing will repeat the same mistake. For the sake of the students, for the sake of Hong Kong, for the sake of China, for the sake of ourselves, let us raise our voices.