At Victoria Park for last year's June 4th vigil
Hong Kongers remember even when they can't get into the park
Twenty-five Hong Kong activists were told by the police yesterday that they'll be charged with "knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly" for taking part in a banned candlelight vigil marking the anniversary of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Victoria Park this past June 4th. This is on top of thirteen people having been charged with "inciting unlawful assembly" for the same event some weeks back.
The sense that the authorities are just piling it on can be gleaned from the fact that many pro-democracy activists having been slapped with a crazy amount of charges. A case in point: One of the 25 individuals told yesterday that they're facing these latest charges, Figo Chan, the 24-year-old vice-convenor of the very established Civil Human Rights Front, alone now faces no fewer than 10 charges: Two counts of announcing an unauthorised assembly; three counts of inciting others to take part; two counts of organising; and three counts of participating. And veteran pro-democrat Lee Cheuk-yan currently faces just one fewer charge -- all nine of which stem from his having called for and/or participated in four different rallies in the past year.
Whither Article 27 of the Basic Law which promises/promised that “Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration; and the right and freedom to form and join trade unions; and to strike”? And do realize that the "unlawful assembly" that these people are being charged for taking part in (and, in some cases, "inciting") was the latest in a series of annual vigils which Hong Kongers took pride in their city being alone among all the cities in China in (once) having been able to openly commemorate.
It truly speaks volumes about the current state of Hong Kong that pro-democracy politicians and activists -- some young enough to still be of (graduate) student age, many old enough to have memories of the 1989 massacre -- have been charged, and could be potentially jailed for years, for their involvement in this particular peaceful event. And for those who want to argue that taking part in a vigil was irresponsible during a pandemic: consider that the event was held outdoors and look at the pictures showing that people were practicing social distancing at it! (Also, for the record, there has not been a single coronavirus case linked to attendance at the Victoria Park vigil -- or, for that matter, any pro-democracy/anti-security law protest -- even while there have been for (pro-Beijing) Handover celebrations!)
On the subject of the Wuhan coronavirus: Hong Kong had 89 daily new cases today; continuing that double digit trend which began this past Monday (after a 12 day streak which saw the territory worryingly registering triple digit daily new case numbers). What makes this downward trend even more promising is that Hong Kong's testing numbers have risen to around 13,000 tests per day in the past week (compared to an average of 9,500 daily in July and 3,600 daily in June). Put another way: increased testing has not resulted in seeing higher numbers of people in the territory testing positive for the coronavirus.
Despite these developments, the ultra unpopular Carrie Lam announced today -- in front of a backdrop with the words "Fight the Virus with [sic] Central Government's Full Support" -- that the government will introduce a voluntary coronavirus testing scheme that could cover millions of Hong Kong people. What remains to be seen though is how many Hong Kongers would willingly subject themselves to these tests which will be "conducted with the support of the Central Government" (i.e., by Mainland Chinese teams).
After hearing the news this afternoon, I asked a friend if she'd be willing to take these tests. "Of course not!" was her very emphatic reply. I get the distinct feeling that sentiment is shared by a good many Hong Kongers who are dissatisfied with the actions Carrie Lam and her administration have taken (and not taken) with regards to fighting the Wuhan coronavirus along with preventing it from coming into, then spreading within, Hong Kong for much of this year.
And should there be any doubt: no, people's worries that the coronavirus tests will be used to collect DNA sample (as has happened in Xinjiang) most definitely will not be allayed by Carrie Lam saying that they won't be; this especially since she -- who has a habit of chuckling and smirking when making supposedly serious statements -- observably smirked while doing so!
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