In Pictures: Activists appear at former vigil site despite heavy police presence on Tiananmen crackdown anniversary

“Activists have appeared in Causeway Bay, defying a heavy police deployment at and around the former site of Hong Kong’s commemorative Tiananmen crackdown vigils. Hong Kong police set up a roadblock in Causeway Bay on June 4, 2026, the 37th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown in Beijing. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Hong Kong police set up a roadblock in Causeway Bay on June 4, 2026, the 37th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown in Beijing. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Large numbers of uniformed and plainclothes officers were seen in Victoria Park – where the Tiananmen vigils were held for decades – and around Causeway Bay on Thursday, the 37th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown. A “Sabertooth” police armoured vehicle was spotted in the afternoon near Times Square, as officers set up a roadblock at the intersection of East Point Road and Great George Road. Exits from Causeway Bay MTR Station were also guarded by officers. Explainer: What to know about Hong Kong’s past Tiananmen commemorations and nat. security trial of vigil leaders 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. Hong Kong activist Luk Yuk-lin walks and chants in Causeway Bay on June 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Hong Kong activist Luk Yuk-lin walks and chants in Causeway Bay on June 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. At around 5pm, activist Luk Yuk-lin walked from Great George Street in Causeway Bay towards Victoria Park. She pressed her hands, wrapped in a black cloth, in a prayer gesture, while chanting the Great Compassion Mantra. Bowing every few steps, Luk walked through the park towards Tin Hau and returned to Causeway Bay. The activist said she bowed 37 times in the 40-minute walk. Hong Kong activist Luk Yuk-lin walks and chants in Causeway Bay on June 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Some police officers followed the activist and occasionally held a cordon around her as she walked and chanted. They took no further action. Another woman was seen gesturing “six” and “four” with her hands at around 6pm on Great George Street in Causeway Bay, The Collective reported . Police officers at the scene warned her that her behaviour could be “seditious”. They pressed her hands down and took her away onto a police vehicle. At around 6.30pm, Chan Po-ying, chairperson of the now-defunct League of Social Democrats, a pro-democracy party, appeared in Causeway Bay with a yellow paper flower. Activist Chan Po-ying appears in Causeway Bay with a yellow paper flower on June 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Activist Chan Po-ying appears in Causeway Bay with a yellow paper flower on June 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Police at the scene warned Chan that her behaviour might constitute “disorder in public places” and told her to put the flower in her bag. Officers then took her away in a police vehicle. Meanwhile, a patriotic food carnival is being held in Victoria Park for the fourth year in the week of the crackdown anniversary. It was the site of the city’s annual candlelight vigils to commemorate the Tiananmen crackdown before Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020. Vigil leaders under trial Leaders of the group that organised the vigils for decades are now standing trial for “inciting subversion” under the national security law . They face up to 10 years behind bars if convicted. Rights group Amnesty International on Thursday urged the Hong Kong government to release the vigil activists, Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan, ahead of their verdict, which is expected in July. The group said a global petition with over 52,000 signatures had been handed over to the Hong Kong government, urging the immediate release of the pair. “This is the seventh year Hong Kong’s Victoria Park candlelight vigil has been extinguished by the authorities. But it cannot be extinguished worldwide. From Hong Kong to diaspora communities worldwide, people continue to keep the memory of 4 June alive with creativity and resilience,” said Fernando Cheung, a former Hong Kong lawmaker and now a spokesperson of Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas. In Beijing, authorities reportedly prevented the families of victims who died in 1989 from visiting their graves at Wan’an Cemetery, a move Amnesty International called “a heartless act.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that “no amount of censorship can erase the past,” according to AFP. Beijing said on Thursday that Rubio’s remarks “distort historical facts, smear China’s political system and development path, and interfere in China’s internal affairs.” On Wednesday, Hong Kong performance artist Sanmu Chan was stopped and searched by plainclothes police after showing up in Causeway Bay holding a 6.4-metre-long red string ahead of the Tiananmen crackdown anniversary. Another artist, Chan Mei-tung, was also searched and escorted to leave Causeway Bay by police after she appeared with balloons – one shaped like a golden question mark – at the shopping district on Wednesday night.

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