Hong Kong artist who tried to mark Tiananmen massacre with red thread intercepted by police
Public acts to commemorate the 1989 killings have become increasingly sensitive in Hong Kong
TL;DR
- Performance artist Sanmu Chen was stopped by police in Hong Kong while attempting to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
- Chen tied a red thread, 6.4 meters long, to a street signpost in Causeway Bay as a symbolic gesture of remembrance.
- Public commemorations of the Tiananmen Square killings have become increasingly sensitive in Hong Kong.
- The annual Tiananmen Square vigils, once held in Victoria Park, were banned in 2020.
- Another artist, Chan Mei-tung, was also stopped by police for holding a question-mark-shaped balloon.
- The national security law imposed in 2020 has led to increased silencing of dissent, arrests of activists, and closure of media outlets.
- Three former vigil organizers face charges under the national security law.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on the anniversary, stating that censorship cannot erase the past.