Hong Kong hosts carnival instead of Tiananmen Square vigil

Pro-China officials held a carnival Sunday in Victoria Park, Hong Kong, where somber vigils commemorated the Tiananmen Square massacre yearly for three decades. On June 4, 1989, the Chinese military attacked a group of protesters in Beijing. Reports of the death toll have ranged from 200 to 10,000. Annual vigils in Hong Kong marked the anniversary of the crackdown until 2020, when China imposed a repressive national security law.

Were there protests in Hong Kong? Police patrolled Victoria Park,  stopping and searching anyone who looked like a dissident. One activist was arrested while holding a candle and two yellow paper flowers. The Hong Kong diaspora planned at least 20 commemoration events in other countries. 

Dig deeper: Read Erica Kwong’s report in World Tour on the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule.