Hong Kong Activist Defies Crackdown To Quietly Remember Tiananmen Victims

Former Hong Kong vigil organizer Tang Ngok-kwan continues to quietly commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown despite convictions against fellow activists and the disappearance of the city's once massive annual vigil.

The 58-year-old still visits places associated with Hong Kong's former public commemorations, including Victoria Park, where tens of thousands once gathered every year to remember those killed when Chinese authorities crushed pro-democracy protests in Beijing on June 3 and 4, 1989. Tang has also visited university campuses where commemorative sculptures once stood, although most traces have disappeared.

The annual candlelight vigil was banned in 2020, officially over COVID-19 concerns. Weeks later, Beijing imposed the national security law following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

Tang's efforts come amid an expanding crackdown under Hong Kong's national security law. Two of his former colleagues, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, were convicted Friday after judges ruled they had incited others to overthrow China's Communist Party leadership through unlawful means. They face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organized the vigil, was also found guilty.

Tang said the verdict did not convince him and that he felt wronged on behalf of those convicted.

Tang joined Hong Kong demonstrations supporting Beijing's student-led pro-democracy movement in May 1989. After the military crackdown, he and other activists helped people wanted by Chinese authorities escape to safety. The alliance subsequently organized the vigil for about three decades.

In 2021, authorities demanded information about the alliance's operations and finances, citing alleged overseas links. The group refused, calling the request an abuse of power. Tang was later arrested and sentenced to 4½ months in prison in 2023 for failing to provide information. His sentence overlapped with the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, which he marked by running 35 barefoot laps.

His conviction was overturned by Hong Kong's top court in 2025, but he had already served his sentence.

Tang continues to find discreet ways to remember. Police prevented him from bringing “sensitive” materials into court Friday, including bookmarks carrying the words “vindicate June 4.” He has also repeatedly walked between a subway station and the trial court, noting that 64 steps lead from the station exit, echoing the June 4 anniversary.