As Hong Kong marked 26 years since its handover to Chinese rule on Saturday, former residents of the city gathered in Taipei to remember lives lost during a wave of protests in 2019.
Images of those who died were set up below Liberty Square Arch in the Taiwanese capital, with a crowd of more than 50 gathering amid heavy rain. Participants placed flowers next to the images, some pausing to offer silent prayers.
The event, along with others set to take place in several cities around the world, represents one front in an evolving pro-democracy movement organized by members of the Hong Kong diaspora.
In 1997, Britain ceded control of Hong Kong under a "one country, two systems" model that was intended to last for 50 years. It was meant to guarantee some freedoms and a degree of autonomy from the mainland. But China imposed a sweeping national security law on the city in 2020 after a series of large-scale pro-democracy protests. Along with rules effectively forcing out pro-democracy lawmakers, the authorities have all but stamped out dissent in the city.
“We need to tell everyone the real history,” said a 42-year-old participant who goes by Futong.
He left Hong Kong in July 2021, along with his wife, after they faced charges under the riot act stemming from participation in a 2019 protest.
Futong said China is also targeting Taiwan, a fact that motivated him to relocate to the island.
“I want to keep fighting” the Chinese Communist Party, he said.
A 28-year-old recent university graduate, who gave his name as Hong, said he hopes former Hong Kong residents around the world will hold such events to get their message out.
“I hope we can awaken more people,” said Hong, who moved to Taiwan due to fears that he would be arrested back home.
In Hong Kong on Saturday, leader John Lee said the city must guard against "destructive forces engaging in soft resistance."
Lee said Hong Kong was "largely stable" now but was still being targeted by countries that oppose China's rise.
The quiet streets of Hong Kong on Saturday were a far cry from previous years, when hundreds of thousands of residents would take part in a march to air their political and social grievances. Police said they received no applications for public processions on Saturday.
Local media reported that more than 6,000 police officers were deployed around the city to ensure order.Five activists said they were "reminded" by authorities not to stage any protests on July 1 or in the lead-up to the anniversary.
An elderly man who held up a placard in the Causeway Bay shopping district calling for the release of political prisoners was quickly surrounded by police and escorted away on Saturday afternoon.
"I would feel uncomfortable if I hadn't come out (to protest)," he told reporters.
Information from AFP-Jiji added
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