U.N. ‘alarmed’ by Hong Kong detentions
Reuters
The United Nations said it is alarmed by detentions in Hong Kong linked to the 34th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square.
Hong Kong police said they detained more than 20 people on June 4, 2023, for “breaching public peace” and also arrested a 53-year-old woman for “obstructing police officers” on the anniversary of the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights called for the release of anyone detained for “exercising freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.” Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK reported that all the detainees had been released.
Restrictions on speech and public protests in Hong Kong have stifled what were once mass candlelight vigils marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre by CCP security forces, which left an estimated 3,000 protesters and bystanders dead.
Hundreds of Hong Kong police conducted stop-and-search operations and deployed armored vehicles near Victoria Park, the site of previous vigils. Activists say such actions are part of the CCP’s broader campaign to crush dissent in the former United Kingdom colony, which was promised continued freedoms for at least 50 years under the “one country, two systems” model when it reverted to Chinese control in 1997.
The Canadian consulate said on its Facebook page that it joined the people of Hong Kong and others around the world in “remembering the violent crackdown against unarmed and peaceful citizens” in 1989. It said Canada stands with those “prevented from upholding their rights, including the right to assemble peacefully.”
IMAGE CREDIT: REUTERS
