HKFP Monitor Jan 24, 2026: Annual Tiananmen vigils – from remembrance to forbidden

2026-01-25 - 21:07

Welcome to HKFP Monitor: Your weekly bird’s-eye view of the latest news and trends across Hong Kong’s media landscape. Subscribe to receive our free, essential round-ups by email every Friday. Welcome to HKFP Monitor. This week, as the trial of the three activists who organised Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen vigils opened, we track the shifting narrative surrounding the 1989 crackdown. We also look at social media chatter following the suspected abuse of a four-month-old baby and a possible cabinet reshuffle reported by local media. | A NEW NARRATIVE The national security trial of three activists who organised the city’s annual Tiananmen vigils finally began on Thursday. At this point, since their arrests in 2021, Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan have been detained for over 1,500 days, while Albert Ho has been in custody for over 1,300 days. From left: Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, Chow Hang-tung. Photos: HKFP. The now-defunct group they led, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, faces the same national security charge. The start of the trial is a major moment in Hong Kong’s reshaping of the narrative surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Annual commemorations of the clampdown were legal, with large-scale vigils at Victoria Park attracting as many as 180,000 people, according to organisers’ estimates. Now, the same park hosts patriotic carnivals on the anniversary date, and university campuses have been stripped of the statues that paid tribute to the crackdown’s victims. Timeline: June 4, 2019: The 30th anniversary vigil in Victoria Park draws a record turnout of 180,000, according to organisers. June 1, 2020: Police ban the vigil for the first time, citing the Covid-19 pandemic. June 4, 2020: Thousands defy the ban and gather at Victoria Park. June 4, 2020. File Photo: Studio Incendo. June 30, 2020: China’s top legislative body passes the national security law for Hong Kong. August 20, 2020: 25 activists are charged with taking part in the banned vigil, including media mogul Jimmy Lai and student leader Joshua Wong. May 6, 2021: Four of the activists charged – Wong, Lester Shum, Tiffany Yuen and Jannelle Yeung – are jailed for up to 10 months after pleading guilty. May 27, 2021: Police ban the vigil for a second time, again due to the pandemic. June 4, 2021: For the first time in 21 years, there are no commemorations at Victoria Park on the anniversary. September 8 and 9, 2021: Five members of the Alliance – Chow, Simon Leung, Tsui Hon-kwong, Tang Ngok-kwan, and Chan To-wai – are arrested for not complying with the national security police’s demand for information. Ho and Lee are also arrested. September 10, 2021: Chow, Lee, and Ho are charged with inciting subversion following their arrests. Chow Hang-tung, vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, speaks to the press on June 11, 2021, ahead of a hearing over an unauthorised Tiananmen crackdown vigil in 2020. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. September 15, 2021: 12 more activists who pleaded guilty are jailed for up to 10 months. September 25, 2021: The Alliance disbands amid pressure from authorities. December 13, 2021: The remaining eight activists, including three who pleaded not guilty – Lai, Chow, and journalist Gwyneth Ho – are jailed for up to 15 months. December 23, 2021: The University of Hong Kong tears down the Pillar of Shame, a statue paying tribute to the Tiananmen crackdown’s victims. December 24, 2021: Tiananmen monuments at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Lingnan University are also removed. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. March 4, 2023: Chow, Tang and Tsui are found guilty of refusing to comply with a national security data demand. March 11, 2023: The trio are sentenced to four and a half months. March 6, 2025: The Court of Final Appeal rules in favour of the trio, overturning their convictions. From ‘a day of memories’ to ‘sensitive date’ Commemorations of the clampdown were once regarded as a symbol of freedom of speech in the city compared with mainland China, where tributes are banned. In 2019, then-chief executive Carrie Lam referred to June 4 as a “day of memories” for many in Hong Kong. “To the SAR government, this enshrines that Hong Kong is a very free society,” she said in Cantonese, adding that the city respected freedom of speech and assembly. Five years later, authorities such as security chief Chris Tang and national security police began referring to June 4 as a “sensitive date.” Photo: Lea Mok/HKFP. When asked by a reporter on June 4, 2024, whether the date had become a “forbidden phrase” that could not be mentioned, Chief Executive John Lee did not answer directly, saying only that all public activities must not break the law. Who are the Alliance? Founded in May 1989, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was established a month before the Tiananmen crackdown to support student protesters across the border. After the clampdown, it helped organise “Operation Yellowbird,” assisting in the smuggling of democracy leaders out of the mainland via Hong Kong. Every year after that, the Alliance held annual vigils at Victoria Park, attended by tens of thousands of people – reaching even more than 100,000, according to the group. During the vigils, Alliance activists led the crowds in chanting political slogans such as “end one-party rule” and “build a democratic China.” The last authorised vigil was held in 2019, with turnout believed to be among the highest in the event’s history amid dissatisfaction with the extradition bill, which sparked major protests and unrest that year. During the hearing on Thursday, the prosecution focused on one of the slogans and demands, saying: “The Alliance’s [call to] end one-party rule is essentially [a call for] an end to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, which is never allowed under the constitution.” | LOCAL MEDIA MONITOR Heads rolling?: Rumours of a possible government reshuffle have been swirling this week. At least two ministers may soon be relieved from duties, Ming Pao reported on Thursday, citing “more than one independent source.” The newspaper suggested that Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang would leave their posts. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. According to talk within political circles, some officials could be held accountable for the Wang Fuk Court fire, which killed 168 people, Ming Pao reported. It noted that the Independent Checking Unit, under Ho’s Housing Bureau, was responsible for overseeing the renovation project at Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing estate in Tai Po. Tsang was in charge of the second “patriots only” legislative elections on December 7, which saw higher voter turnout than the 2021 polls but a record share of invalid ballots since the 1997 Handover. File photo: Kyle/HKFP. In response to Ming Pao’s enquiries, Ho said her mind was overwhelmed by work, while Tsang said: “I can’t say anything about it.” Citing unnamed sources, HK01 said that Chief Executive John Lee mentioned Ming Pao’s report in an internal meeting on Thursday. He said the government would not take any action to hold officials accountable for the Tai Po fire until the independent review committee completed its investigation, expected to take around nine months. According to HK01’s sources, if there is a cabinet reshuffle, it is likely to be because of other factors, not the Tai Po fire. The last cabinet reshuffle took place in December 2024, when two top officials, culture minister Kevin Yeung and transport minister Lam Sai-hung, were sacked. | SOCIAL MEDIA MONITOR Night duties: The case of an injured baby this week has triggered online discussions on work arrangements for domestic workers. According to a viral Facebook post by a man believed to be the baby’s father, his four-month-old son was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage. Two migrant domestic workers, aged 28 and 45, were arrested on Tuesday and accused of assaulting the baby. According to police, the infant was left in critical condition due to suspected shaken baby syndrome. The 28-year-old worker was charged on Thursday with suspicion of assaulting a child. The other worker is still being investigated, police said. The baby’s father, surnamed Lo, told HK01 that he was outside in the early hours of Sunday when his domestic worker, who was feeding the baby at home, called to say that he was unresponsive. Photo: 盧生, via Facebook. He said that around 40 minutes later, at around 2.10am, the domestic worker called again, saying the baby was still unresponsive. In a Threads post, which has been deleted but whose screenshot was shared on Facebook, a user believed to be the mother of the injured baby said she received a call from her domestic worker at around 2am reporting that the infant was unresponsive. The Threads user said she was out at the time and returned home just as the ambulance arrived.