'A regime cannot take away the people's memory,' says jailed leader of Hong Kong AllianceA display shows images of the crowds at the annual candlelight vigils held in Hong Kong to remember those who died during the military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989, at the June 4th Museum in Hong Kong. (Reuters Photo)HONG KONG: The pro-democracy group that for three decades organised vigils in Hong Kong commemorating the victims of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown voted to disband on Saturday in the face of China’s sweeping crackdown on dissent. The Hong Kong Alliance was one of the most prominent symbols of the city’s former political plurality and its dissolution is the latest illustration of how quickly China is remoulding the territory in its own authoritarian image. Beijing has since made clear it will no longer tolerate Tiananmen remembrance in Hong Kong or Macau, the only two places within China where public remembrance could take place. China’s top official in Hong Kong recently described those who call for “ending the one-party dictatorship” as “real enemies”.

Source: Bangkok Post September 25, 2021 10:30 UTC