Hong Kong arrests Tiananmen vigil organizer

An organizer of Hong Kong's annual vigil marking China's 1989 Tiananmen crackdown was arrested on Friday.

Thirty-six-year-old Chow Hang Tung usually helps organise Hong Kong's June 4th vigil, the world's largest vigil to mark those who died during the bloody crackdown.

But this year there will be no candles lit at Victoria Park.

Police have banned the vigil for a second year in a row, citing the coronavirus.

Chow told Reuters this week before her arrest that June 4 was a test for Hong Kong of whether "we can defend our bottom line of morality."

Here was Chow in a commemoration march in 2019:

"When it comes to the responsibility behind the June 4 incident, the real responsibility lies with Beijing's political powers. That's why we have come here to their representatives in Hong Kong."

Activists have called it a suppression of one of the city's most powerful symbols of democratic hope.

On the streets, thousands of police were out on patrol, to prevent people from gathering.

A police official confirmed the arrest of a 36-year-old member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and a 20-year-old food delivery man for promoting an unauthorised assembly.

Friday's anniversary is the first since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on its freest city last year.

Under the law subversion, secession, terrorism or colluding with foreign forces are punishable by up to life in prison.

The Chinese central government says the law is vital to plug gaping holes in the city's national security defences.

But critics like Chow say it erodes the city's liberties.

"It's actually a weapon of mass destruction for Hong Kong, I would say. The government always criticises us, the activists, the pro-democracy camp for destabilising Hong Kong. I think it's the government, it's the national security law, that's destabilising Hong Kong. It's destroying the environment of stability, of security, that people have been living in."

Meanwhile many residents said they planned on lighting a candle in their neighbourhood, and some churches were open for prayer.