This Saturday marks the 33rd anniversary of the June 4th Incident. Since the implementation of the "Hong Kong National Security Law", the old civil society in Hong Kong has disintegrated. The Taiwan Pillar Stake for the June 4th Memorial Event also entered history last year. This year is the first time since the disbandment of the stake. This June 4th, so far no pro-democracy organization has planned to hold June 4th commemorative activities.
Looking back on the development of the past 33 years, as a historical event that Hong Kong people are concerned about, the meaning of "June 4th" has undergone multiple changes in Hong Kong society in the past ten years. ”, and in the past two years, even public mourning activities have disappeared.
Some scholars said that it is difficult to determine whether Beijing intends to turn "June 4th" into a "political ban" in Hong Kong, but it is difficult to do so in reality. However, in the past period of time, June 4th has been used by hostile forces as a political countermeasure against the governance of the Chinese Communist Party. Capital, and the current opposition forces have collapsed, so of course they will be strictly banned. It is expected that in the future, the June 4 commemoration activities will only remain in the form of personal acts or private gatherings.
For many years, it has been regarded as "anti-China chaos in Hong Kong", the official tolerance
During the 1989 pro-democracy movement, there was no faction in Hong Kong's political circles that supported Beijing's pro-democracy movement. Later, after the June 4th incident, some people chose to break with the CCP, while the other group chose to "start again" to keep their mouths shut, or turned to support the government.
Since then, tens of thousands of citizens have come to Victoria Park every year to participate in the candlelight party hosted by the stake. The number of people will fluctuate according to the political environment, but this tradition has never been interrupted and is closely linked to the local democratic movement.
In the eyes of the mainland authorities, the 1989 pro-democracy movement has always been characterized as a "counter-revolutionary riot", until 2021, the "Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Party's Centenary Achievements and Historical Experience" has been downplayed as "the turn of the spring and summer of 1989" serious political turmoil."
The long-standing platform of the stake has been "release the pro-democracy activists, vindicate the 1989 pro-democracy movement, hold the city accountable for massacres, end the one-party dictatorship, and build a democratic China". Emotional, but critical of today's political system in China as well as the Chinese Communist Party.
Because of this, its program and activities have always been regarded by pro-China factions as "anti-China chaos in Hong Kong".
Zhang Xiaoming: Being elected as a stake member shows political tolerance
After the reunification, the SAR government did not show too strong attitude towards the stake. It was reported that in 1997, the chief executive-designate Tung Chee-hwa had asked Situ Hua, the chairman of the stake, to stop the June 4 memorial activities. After taking office, he also met with Situ twice. Hua, asked to dissolve the stake but was rejected, but Tung Chee-hwa later denied it.
In January 2011, Szeto Wah passed away. The then Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, praised Szeto Wah for "loving China and Hong Kong all his life, and was committed to promoting democratic development".
In addition, according to the Democratic Party's "Six-Person Report", when the Democratic Party negotiated political reform with the Liaison Office in 2010, Li Gang, then deputy director of the Liaison Office, once proposed that the Democratic Party should gradually distance itself from the stake, but it was not accepted by the Democratic Party. .
However, the central government did not put forward the conditions for alienating the stake, and the political reform passed smoothly, showing that although the central government did not like the attitude of the stake at that time, it still retained a certain degree of tolerance.
In 2014, Zhang Xiaoming, the then director of the Liaison Office of the CPC Central Committee, even met behind closed doors and pointed out that the stake claimed under the "one country, two systems" principle to "overthrow the one-party dictatorship" could hold various activities, and members of the stake could also be elected. Members of the Legislative Council themselves reflect a great political tolerance.
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After the rise of local consciousness: the small number of people in the assembly reflects the weak national identity
Beginning in 2012, with the intensification of economic and people's livelihood conflicts between the two places and the rise of local awareness, which evolved to Occupy Central in 2014 and the "Recovery Action" in 2015, the meaning of June 4th on the political map of Hong Kong also began to change.
For example, since 2013, some local faction organizations were dissatisfied with the stake's slogan of "patriotism and love for the people" in mourning for June 4th. History has little to do with the new generation of Hong Kong people. Many university student unions have successively refused to participate in activities related to the June 4th Movement, implying a generational "split".
In official attitudes, the history of June 4th continues to be a political taboo, but attitudes towards Hong Kong mourning activities have also changed.
For example, in 2018, "Hong Kong 01" received information from the pro-establishment faction that Beijing had "fewer people but not too many people" for the June 4 rally. One of the important considerations is that the decline in the number of people participating in the rally may reflect the local and even Hong Kong. The trend of independent thinking has not been extinguished, and the new generation has a weak sense of Chinese identity.
Post-amendment scandal: Those who clamor for "end the dictatorship" become "real enemies"
During the turmoil of the amendments in 2019, there was a certain degree of "convergence" between traditional democrats and radicals, and they participated in lobbying foreign countries to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong officials, which touched the central nerve.
According to the analysis of Liu Zhaojia, vice-chairman of the National Association for Hong Kong and Macau Studies, various events in 2019 have driven the central government to give up completely on the old opposition.
Therefore, since the passage of the "Hong Kong National Security Law" in 2020, the central government and the SAR government have carried out a series of actions described as "setting things right". In addition to modifying Hong Kong's electoral system at the political level and cracking down on street demonstrations, many representative The pro-democracy groups such as the Education Association, the Trade Union and the FDC were successively disbanded due to political pressure.
In June 2021, Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the CPC Central Committee, attended the "Communist Party of China and One Country, Two Systems Forum".
(Photo by Liang Pengwei)
Homeland Security suspects stake as 'foreign agent' core charges
In June 2021, Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the CPC Central Committee, said at a forum celebrating the centenary of the founding of the CCP that those who clamor for "end one-party dictatorship" are Hong Kong's "real enemy", emphasizing that maintaining the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party means safeguarding "one country, two systems" and the Constitution. and the constitutional order of the SAR determined by the Basic Law.
In August 2021, the National Security Department of the Police sent a letter to several standing committee members of the stake and related groups, stating that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the stake was a "foreign agent", and requested to explain the financial, meeting and activity records of the past eight years. The Standing Committee later held a press conference, stating that they would not submit information as required by the police.
On September 8 of the same year, the police arrested several members of the stake standing committee, accusing them of failing to provide information as requested; crime".
By September 25, the stake passed a resolution to dissolve.
▼The core was charged before the stake was dissolved last year▼
"Red Lines" Tighten Tan Yaozong: The Stake "Fights the Red Flag with the Red Flag"
Amid the drastic changes in the political environment, the government's attitude towards the June 4 commemoration has also changed.
For example, in 2020 and 2021, the police banned the June 4 gatherings on the grounds of the epidemic, and strictly enforced the law and prosecuted those who insisted on attending the Victoria Park rally. Last year, they even blocked the Victoria Park to prevent citizens from breaking in.
Other surrounding activities or groups related to June 4th are also affected. For example, the June 4th Memorial Museum was charged with violating the "Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance" due to a license problem on the eve of June 4th last year, and was fined 8,000 yuan. above form exhibition.
In the above context, the June 4-related art exhibits of various universities, such as the "Pillar of National Mourning" at the University of Hong Kong and the Statue of Democracy at CUHK, were removed by the university.
At the same time, Beijing officials and representatives of the establishment began to mention the relationship between patriotism and support for the Chinese Communist Party.
For example, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, made it clear last year that patriots must not harm the socialist system led by the Communist Party of China. If a person claims to support "one country, two systems" but opposes the founder and leader of "one country, two systems", he is contradicting himself. Tan Yaozong, member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, also mentioned in an interview with "Hong Kong 01" last year that the stake and other organizations were entangled in the issues they dealt with in the past, and they could not see the country's subsequent progress. Patriotic", in fact, denying the People's Republic of China and the Communist Party of China, is ultimately no different from anti-China chaos in Hong Kong and affecting national security.
Evolving to this day, the pro-democracy camp has no plans to hold the June 4 rally this year. Only some individuals may have scattered private activities to "pass down history in their own way."
Di Zhiyuan, the only member of the Legislative Council who advertises as a non-establishment member and a new thinking, has not responded positively when asked several times recently about his personal way of commemorating the June 4th Movement.
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Cai Ziqiang: The authorities' request for non-epidemic prevention in the June 4th ban is a political warning
Cai Tsz-keung, a senior lecturer in the Department of Politics and Administration at CUHK, pointed out that in the past, he has always expressed this point of view to people from the Mainland who came to Hong Kong for "exchange": those who held and participated in the June 4 rally were actually people who had feelings for China. For a period of time, he was criticized and even attacked by the local faction, and the stake was also attacked by enemies on both sides. The patriots thought it was a "subversive activity", and the local faction thought it was "intoxicated by Chinese love": "However, I made it clear that I will still pay attention to it. People on June 4 will feel that they are Chinese, and no matter how they criticize China's political situation, they will still have national and national feelings, and for the central government, it is better than some localists who have no feelings about June 4."
However, he pointed out that in recent years, the international political environment, the national policy of the mainland, the leaders of the central government and the political environment in Hong Kong have changed. Under various factors, the central government's judgment on the "June 4th-Stake" has also changed, and national security awareness and concern have changed. It was extremely high: "In the past (former director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government) Wang Zhimin would still say that 'end the one-party dictatorship' is a false proposition, because China does not practice 'one-party dictatorship' at all, but it is clear that the government does not view it this way. In the old days , Situ Hua is a patriot, but by today's standards, I believe he will also be arrested." He pointed out that the case of "inciting subversion of state power" by the stake is still under trial, and it is not known how the court will decide the final decision. The slogan of the federation, but apparently the platform of the stake is politically taboo in the eyes of officials.
Cai Ziqiang said that in the past two years on June 4th, he had collected some information on the scene of Victoria Park. Basically, on the day of June 4th, if they stopped near Victoria Park, lit candles or turned on the lights of their mobile phones, and young people wearing black clothes, the police would give special attention. Sensitive, take the initiative to drive away and warn them, "This is obviously not a requirement for hygiene or gathering restrictions, but a political vigilance. I believe that even if there is no order to restrict gatherings in public places, as long as the application for gatherings is based on June 4th, the government will also There is a high chance that it will not be allowed.”
He pointed out that it is difficult to estimate the official attitude and ultimate goal of mourning the June 4th in Hong Kong, but he will pay attention to the current social atmosphere is so sluggish. Commemorative events have also been outlawed, further disheartened by the status quo.
Liu Zhaojia: The national sentiment behind the June 4th Movement contains rebellious sentiment towards the CCP
Liu Zhaojia, vice president of the National Association for Hong Kong and Macau Studies, pointed out that the central government and the SAR government definitely do not want June 4 to continue to be used by hostile forces to provoke Hong Kong people in Hong Kong, especially young people to confront the Chinese Communist Party, create political polarization in Hong Kong, crack down on patriotic forces and gain Political capital, and after the implementation of the National Security Law, some June 4 activities may be illegal and endanger national security.
He pointed out that in the past, the Hong Kong government was afraid of the opposition and its supporters, but now the opposition has collapsed and there is room for stricter regulation.
He also believes that in recent years, more and more Hong Kong people have seen the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the disintegration of a country, and the containment of China by the United States and the West. will be fewer and fewer.
When asked whether the ultimate goal of the central government is to make June 4th in Hong Kong a "forbidden language" like in the mainland, Liu Zhaojia said that he does not speculate on the central government's intention, but believes that it is difficult to achieve in reality, and believes that in the future, activities related to June 4th will become personal behaviors. or private parties.
He also believes that the central government never intends to use the June 4th Movement to cultivate the younger generation's feelings for the country, especially since such feelings may contain rebellious feelings towards the People's Republic of China and the Communist Party of China, so history education and national conditions education are more suitable.
June 4th | Is it illegal to show up in Victoria Park and light candles at home?
Carrie Lam: The assembly must comply with the National Security Law and the 33rd Anniversary of June 4th of the Anti-epidemic Regulation | On Tuesday, it was still stated that the Poway Garden football stadium was fully leased for the 33rd anniversary of the June 4th anniversary. No Commemoration of the 33rd Anniversary of June 4th | The Stake has been disbanded last year and the pro-democracy faction does not plan to hold a large-scale mourning event
