[Hong Kong, 5th June 2026] 4th June, 2026, marks the 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown. Prior to the promulgation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) in 2020, Hong Kong was the only place within China where commemorative events on the crackdown could be held publicly. Today, however, the Hong Kong government equates commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown with subverting state power.
Albert Ho, Chow Hang-tung, and Lee Cheuk-yan, members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Alliance), are currently facing charges of “incitement to subvert state power” in connection with such activities. The three have been held in pre-trial detention for nearly five years, and the court has yet to render a verdict. The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights urges the Hong Kong government to adopt the recommendations of the United Nations human rights treaty bodies and multiple UN Special Rapporteurs to immediately release the three individuals. Furthermore, the government must repeal the current Hong Kong National Security Law, ensure that all national security-related laws and their legislative processes comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and allow for free, open, and meaningful participation by civil society and the public.
Assemblies Vanish in Hong Kong Amidst Heavy Police Presence
Under the suppression of the NSL and related national security regulations, Hong Kong citizens have lost their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, which are guaranteed by the ICCPR and the Basic Law. According to publicly available police data and the Centre’s database, the police did not issue any “Notice of No Objection” for marches or assemblies between June 1 and June 5, 2026. It is worth noting that even during the same period in 2024 and 2025, religious marches and assemblies unrelated to the June 4 incident were permitted to take place, whereas this year, they have completely disappeared.
On June 4 this year, despite the absence of any signs of assembly or protest across the city, the authorities still deployed anti-riot armored vehicles and counter-terrorism units for high-profile patrols in the Causeway Bay area. According to statistics compiled by the Centre from media reports, at least six individuals were forcibly taken away in police vehicles that day simply for engaging in peaceful acts of expression; another two individuals were warned by the police that their behavior was “seditious” even when they were just peacefully displaying gestures and praying. On the same day, a large number of uniformed and plainclothes police officers conducted intensive stop-and-search operations on citizens lingering in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay.
Additionally, according to media reports citing police sources, a total of five men and two women (aged between 17 and 79) were intercepted and taken away from the scene by police on June 4 for allegedly “committing disorderly conduct,” before subsequently being allowed to leave.
Criticism of Police for failing “Positive Obligations”; UN Report Warns Destroying Memory Constitutes “Secondary Victimization”
The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights strongly criticizes the authorities for the arbitrary exercise of police power, utilizing various high-handed measures to obstruct and restrict citizens from exercising their legally protected freedoms of speech and assembly, thereby depriving them of their right to peacefully mourn the victims and express their personal opinions. The Centre points out that this seriously violates the government’s “positive obligations” to facilitate citizens in conducting peaceful assemblies and expressing their views. The police’s frequent practice of taking citizens away on the grounds of “disorderly conduct” and arbitrarily accusing them of sedition are acts of power abuse that violates both international and local human rights laws.
Furthermore, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence explicitly pointed out in a 2020 thematic report that establishing memorials and holding commemorative ceremonies are essential conditions for a society to ensure the “non-recurrence” of historical tragedies. The authorities’ actions of destroying public memory and banning commemorations are tantamount to inflicting “secondary victimization” on the victims and their families, and will further fuel a culture of impunity. The Centre strongly condemns this and calls on the international community to continue monitoring the comprehensively deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong.
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