Latest news with #HometownMarket
HKFP
03-06-2025
- General
- HKFP
Heavy police presence on eve of Tiananmen anniversary, performance artist escorted away by officers
A heavy police deployment has been spotted in Causeway Bay on the eve of the Tiananmen crackdown anniversary, with a performance artist being searched and escorted to an MTR station. Police officers patrolled Victoria Park – the former site of the city's annual vigils for the Tiananmen crackdown – and its vicinity on Tuesday, one day before the 36th anniversary of the crackdown. Outside the Sogo department store, plainclothes officers stopped and searched performance artist Chan Mei-tung as she was chewing bubble gum. The officers set up a cordon and told reporters to stay on the other side of the road as they warned Chan and filmed the scene. They then escorted Chan to the Causeway Bay MTR station and waved goodbye to her as she walked through the station's gates, photos from local media outlets showed. Chan was arrested for disorderly conduct on the eve of the anniversary in 2022, after standing outside Sogo and peeling potatoes. Hometown Market Meanwhile, a patriotic food carnival called the Hometown Market in Victoria Park attracted 100 to 200 visitors on Tuesday afternoon. Booths manned by pro-Beijing groups sold food like broth packs and roasted lamb, while visitors played with virtual reality headsets and robots. The five-day event, which began on Sunday, will continue until Thursday. According to the organiser, the market features nearly 300 booths involving 30 clan associations representing provinces across mainland China, such as Guangdong, Fujian, and Guangxi. This is the third year that the Hometown Market has been held in Victoria Park on the Tiananmen crackdown anniversary. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Beijing-imposed national security law, tens of thousands of Hongkongers gathered for an annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park on June 4 to mourn the bloody crackdown on student-led protests at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The number of deaths is not known, but it is believed that hundreds, if not thousands, perished during the People's Liberation Army's dispersal of protesters, which ended on June 4, 1989. Police banned the Tiananmen vigil gathering at Victoria Park for the first time in 2020, citing Covid-19 restrictions, and imposed the same ban in 2021, nearly a year after the national security law came into effect. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised the vigils, disbanded in September 2021 after several of its members were arrested. Commemorations by small shops While there have not been any major commemorations of the Tiananmen crackdown in recent years, small shops have taken it upon themselves to mark the anniversary. Heung Together, a shop in Sham Shui Po selling incense and fragrances, published a post on Instagram, saying that it was selling tea candles for '$6.4.' Tea candles have 'multiple uses,' the post on Monday read, including for mourning victims, serving as a light source during blackouts, and warming up teapots. The shop is run by former Tsuen Wan district councillor Katrina Chan. AsOne, a shop owned by another ex-district councillor, Derek Chu, posted on Instagram on Monday that it would display candles on June 4 to 'mourn the students and citizens who sacrificed themselves for the pro-democracy movement.' Chu has also staged commemorations in previous years. Last year, he displayed candles in his shop but removed them after plainclothes officers visited. In 2023, Chu attempted to organise a private screening of a documentary called To Be Continued, which is about the State Theatre building in North Point, on June 4. However, Golden Scene Cinema, which hosted the screening, cancelled the event days before it, saying it was reminded by an industry representative that the date of the planned screening was 'sensitive.'
HKFP
26-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Patriotic carnival to return to Hong Kong's Victoria Park on anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown
For the third consecutive year, Hong Kong's Victoria Park – historically the site of annual candlelight vigils to remember the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown – will host a patriotic food carnival on June 4. The Hometown Market will be held from Sunday, June 1, to June 5, featuring nearly 300 booths, according to the organisers' Facebook page. During the five-day event, 30 clan associations representing provinces such as Guangdong, Fujian, and Guangxi will run booths selling local delicacies. There will also be 'innovative technology and sports experience zones,' the pro-Beijing organisers also said. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Beijing-imposed national security law, tens of thousands of Hongkongers gathered for an annual candlelight vigil on June 4 to mourn the bloody crackdown on student-led protests at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The number of deaths is not known, but it is believed hundreds, if not thousands, perished during the People's Liberation Army's dispersal of protesters, which ended on June 4, 1989. Police banned the Tiananmen vigil gathering at Victoria Park for the first time in 2020, citing Covid-19 restrictions, and imposed the same ban in 2021, nearly a year after the national security law came into effect. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised the vigils, disbanded in September 2021 after several of its members were arrested. No official commemoration has been held since then. The park also played host to the Hometown Market last year and the year before, with police patrolling the vicinity, stopping and searching passersby. In recent years, the Hong Kong government has referred to the Tiananmen anniversary as a 'sensitive date,' while statues and artworks paying tribute to the 1989 crackdown have been removed from the city's university campuses. The Pillar of Shame monument disappeared from the University of Hong Kong in a covert overnight operation on December 23, 2021. The next day, the Goddess of Democracy statue was taken away from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, while the Tiananmen Massacre wall relief was removed from Lingnan University.
