In Pictures: Hong Kong police deploy armoured vehicle in Causeway Bay on Tiananmen crackdown anniversary
Police have deployed an armoured vehicle in Hong Kong's commercial heart, amidst an ongoing heavy security presence on the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
The 'Sabertooth' armoured vehicle was spotted on Great George Street in Causeway Bay on Wednesday afternoon, as groups of uniformed officers patrolled areas near Victoria Park, the former site of annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing.
Hundreds of police officers have also been deployed in Causeway Bay. Officers – both in uniform and plainclothes – are being stationed in the Causeway Bay MTR station, outside the Sogo department store, as well as in and around Victoria Park.
Andrew Kan, deputy police commissioner for national security, made an appearance in Causeway Bay at around 5.05pm and walked around for about 10 minutes.
Activist Lui Yuk-lin, nicknamed 'Female Long Hair,' was brought into a police van at 4.28pm, shortly after she exited the Causeway Bay MTR station.
She clasped her palms in front of her chest without saying anything. It is unclear whether she was under arrest.
In Victoria Park, a man holding an electric candle while sitting on a bench was surrounded by police officers at around 4.30pm. The man, wearing a face mask, a white cap, and dressed in black attire, was later brought to a police van. Police did not say whether he was apprehended.
Shortly after 6pm, a woman holding up a small white flower on Great George Street was surrounded by police. They searched her belongings and escorted her away to the MTR station.
Two women – including a girl holding flowers and wearing what appeared to be a school uniform – were taken into a police van in Victoria Park.
Performance artist Chan Mei-tung appeared in Causeway Bay at around 7.15pm and told reporters that she was going to Victoria Park to swim. She was stopped by police as she was approaching the park in the rain and was taken away in a police van at 7.29pm.
On Tuesday, Chan was stopped and searched by plainclothes officers outside Sogo, as she was chewing bubble gum.
The Tiananmen crackdown occurred on June 4, 1989, ending months of student-led demonstrations in China. It is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People's Liberation Army cracked down on protesters in Beijing.
Keith Yip, deputy police commissioner of operations, appeared in Victoria Park at around 7.45pm.
A man stood silently in the rain at around 8pm. Minutes later, he was escorted by police and taken into a police van.
Louis Doucet, head of press and communications at the French Consulate General in Hong Kong, walked through Victoria Park at around 8.20pm.
Around 20 minutes later in the park, police questioned a man wearing a white T-shirt featuring a drawing of the Goddess of Democracy and a Chinese slogan saying, 'Vindication of June 4 Comes Closer and Closer,' before taking him into a police van.
At around 9 pm, a man wearing a T-shirt saying 'Core Values of Socialism' was taken away by police in Victoria Park. Police did not say whether he was under arrest.
He was also taken away during last year's Tiananmen crackdown anniversary.
Just before 9 pm, a man wearing a headpiece that read 'Hong Kong Add Oil' in Chinese was stopped by police at the entrance of Fashion Walk in Causeway Bay and later led into a police van. His dog had on a collared decorated with yellow ribbons and the Chinese word for 'persist.'
Two female journalists – one working for Yahoo News and the other for local media outlet The Collective – said they were questioned by police after filming an officer shining a flashlight at reporters outside the H&M store on Great George Street.
Speaking to the press after being released at around 9pm, the two journalists said they told the police they were reporters. The officers then took down their personal details and press credentials before letting them go.
Hong Kong used to be the only place on Chinese soil – besides Macau – where commemoration of the crackdown could be held in public.
Tens of thousands of residents gathered annually in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay for candlelight vigils on June 4 every year to mourn the victims.
But authorities banned the Tiananmen vigil gathering at Victoria Park for the first time in 2020, citing Covid-19 restrictions, and imposed the ban again in 2021, nearly a year after a national security law imposed by Beijing came into effect.
The vigil organiser – Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China – voted a year later to disband after its former leaders Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, and Chow Hang-tung were charged with incitement to subversion under the national security law.
Chow, who is currently detained pending trial, announced on Sunday that she would launch a 36-hour hunger strike in prison on Wednesday to mark 36 years since the crackdown took place.
'I believe we all will have our own ways to remember the day,' read the post shared by Chow's Patreon account, which is managed by the activist's family and friends.
The police set up anti-crash barriers outside the Sogo department store after a blue private vehicle drove onto the pedestrian road. The driver was taken away by the police, and the car was towed.
Local media outlet The Collective reported on Wednesday that some police officers were dropped off from a Government Flying Services helicopter at Lion Rock, where banners and signs commemorating the Tiananmen crackdown appeared in previous years. The officers set up camp near the mountaintop, the report read.
In an email reply to HKFP's enquiries, the police force said: 'Police will not disclose specific operational details as it may affect the effectiveness of Police's operations.'
AsOne Store, a pro-democracy business run by former district councillor Derek Chu in Mong Kok, is distributing commemorative digital candles for free on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.
Some candles are wrapped with labels that read 'Tiananmen Mothers,' referring to a group of parents who say their children died during the 1989 crackdown and have since advocated for Beijing to stop treating discussions of the event as taboo.
Chu told HKFP on Wednesday afternoon that more than 20 people had gone to the store to get the candles. AsOne also sells candles from another pro-democracy store, Heung Together, which was inspected by Hong Kong customs officers on Tuesday, the eve of the Tiananmen anniversary.
'It is really depressing every day in Hong Kong when you dare not speak up. But on June 4, I see that there are still many people who stand firm in their beliefs. I can still feel the spirit of those who want to safeguard the truth,' Chu said.
It is the third consecutive year that the store has displayed candles to commemorate the historic event, after the annual candlelight vigils in Victoria Park were snuffed out.
The Tiananmen crackdown occurred on June 4, 1989, ending months of student-led demonstrations in China. It is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People's Liberation Army cracked down on protesters in Beijing.
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