Friday is the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. China has placed 7,000 officers on standby and has locked down Hong Kong’s Victoria Park where the candlelight vigil drew tens of thousands of people for decades. China’s authorities are attempting to put an end to the vigil that has provided a point of difference with mainland China.
Friday’s vigil was banned under coronavirus claims, although the city has not had a local case in the last two weeks. Art fairs and nightclubs have been permitted and full of people on the weekends. Thousands of people participated in the vigil last year despite the ban, and the authorities are trying to avoid a repetition of the defiance. Protest leaders from the vigil last year have been jailed, and on Thursday the police warned that anyone who attends can be jailed for up to five years.
Read more: Hong Kong police seal off park, issue jail threats ahead of banned Tiananmen vigil
