Hong Kong Police Thwart Tiananmen Square Vigil as Activist Arrested

MAE SOT, THAILAND - For the second year in a row, authorities have banned the annual Tiananmen Square vigil in Hong Kong that usually attracts thousands of people in memory of the Chinese government's crackdown in Beijing in 1989. 

Thirty-two years ago, thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets in Beijing demonstrating against the Chinese government and demanding economic and political reforms. After several weeks, China's People's Liberation Army occupied the area with tanks and opened fire against the student-led demonstrators, killing an unknown numbers of demonstrators.  Thousands of mourners in Hong Kong have attended the annual remembrance vigil for decades, but authorities banned it for the first time last year, citing the global pandemic. The event is illegal in mainland China.  Up to 7,000 police officers were reportedly deployed Friday to handle potential gatherings, with 3,000 alone stationed at Hong Kong's Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, the usual location for the memorial. Authorities again pointed to COVID-19 and the current four-person cap on gatherings as this year's reason the vigil could not go ahead.