Hong Kongers are seeking innovative ways to commemorate the victims of China's deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown after authorities banned an annual vigil and vowed to stamp out any protests come Friday's anniversary.

Discussion of tanks and troops quelling peaceful democracy protesters in Beijing on June 4, 1989 is all but forbidden in the mainland and there is heavy censorship of the images from the crackdown so well known in the rest of the world.

But in semi-autonomous Hong Kong the date has been remembered with huge candlelight vigils in Victoria Park for the last three decades.

Last year's vigil was banned for the first time because of the coronavirus, but thousands defied police and rallied anyway.

Much has changed in Hong Kong over the last year as authorities seek to snuff out the city's pro-democracy movement using a sweeping national security law that criminalises much dissent.

This year's vigil has been banned again, ostensibly because of the coronavirus -- although Hong Kong has not recorded an unexplained locally transmitted case in more than a month.

Officials have also warned that the security law could be wielded against Tiananmen mourners.

So Hong Kongers are getting creative.

Local artist Kacey Wong has collected hundreds of spent candle stubs from previous vigils and plans to give them to residents on Friday night.

"It is time to redistribute them to the people of Hong Kong so they can collect them, preserve them and put them in a safe place," Wong told AFP.

Wong has previously turned the candles into artworks but will give them away this year at two stores of local clothing brand Chickeeduck, which sells pro-democracy merchandise.

"Each burned candle contains a person's mourning towards those who sacrificed themselves in pursuit of democracy, as well as one's longing for democracy, a mix of complex emotions," explained Wong.

"It's a testimony of hope... I hope they can continue to shine the way towards freedom and democracy."

- Zero tolerance -

During last year's vigil, police took a back seat once crowds massed and then dispersed peacefully in Victoria Park -- although they later arrested ringleaders, some of whom have since been jailed.

Authorities appear to be taking a more proactive approach this year.

Police say they plan to have about 3,000 officers on standby and will stop crowds before they gather in the park, which is now overlooked by a new unit of Chinese mainland security agents based in a luxury hotel.

Hong Kong's Security Bureau has warned that attending an unlawful protest can carry five years in jail, and one year for those who publicise rallies.

Pro-Beijing figures say popular slogans shouted at the Tiananmen vigils such as "End one-party rule" and "Bring democracy to China" are now illegal.

Security Minister John Lee has said the security law will be used against anyone who "organises, plans or carries out any illegal means to damage or overthrow the fundamental system under the Chinese constitution".

On Tuesday, hygiene inspectors visited a newly reopened Tiananmen museum that is run by the same group organising the annual vigil.

The inspectors said the venue was operating without the required licences and the museum closed its doors the following day.

- 'Refuse to forget' -

But activists say authorities will struggle to eliminate all acts of commemoration in a city that still seethes with resentment towards Beijing after 2019's huge and often violent democracy protests were stamped out.

Historically, the Tiananmen vigil candles are lit at 8.09 pm -- representing 1989.

Albert Ho -- a now-jailed former lawmaker and one of the vigil organisers -- suggested Hong Kongers could light candles or shine mobile phone lights in their local neighbourhoods.

"We can regard the whole of Hong Kong as Victoria Park," he told the South China Morning Post before he was sentenced last week for attending previous democracy protests.

Social media presents another avenue.

Artist Pak Sheung-chuen has called on residents to write the numbers six and four -- representing June 4 -- on light switches as a way to memorise Tiananmen every time they turn them on.

"Guard the truth and refuse to forget," Pak said on Facebook.

Designer Chan Ka-hing posted another idea on social media. He printed a black rectangle with a 6:4 ratio on a white t-shirt and said others were welcome to copy the design.

District councillor Debby Chan said she plans to mourn Tiananmen by holding a poetry reading and sharing session with residents in her neighbourhood.

"Commemorating June 4 has always been part of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement," she told AFP.

"This is one of the most signature events of our movement. If we give up now, the red lines will only come closer in the future."

Hong Kongers mourn Tiananmen dead under security law's shadow
Hong Kong (AFP) June 3, 2021 - Thousands of police will enforce a ban on protests in Hong Kong on Friday for the Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary, a traditional day of pro-democracy people power that China has made clear it will no longer tolerate.

Discussion of Beijing's decision to use tanks and troops against peaceful democracy protests on June 4, 1989 is all but forbidden on the mainland.

And Hong Kong's traditional status as the only place in China where large-scale commemorations are still allowed looks to be coming to an end.

For more than three decades, huge crowds have gathered in the city's Victoria Park to hold an emotional candlelight vigil to remember those killed and to call on China to embrace democracy.

Authorities banned this year's gathering citing the coronavirus pandemic -- although Hong Kong has not recorded an untraceable local transmission in more than a month.

Police say that thousands of officers will be on standby to halt any "unlawful assemblies" while officials have also warned that a sweeping new national security law could be wielded against Tiananmen mourners.

While last year's vigil was also denied permission because of the pandemic, thousands simply defied the ban.

But much has changed in Hong Kong over the last year as authorities seek to snuff out the city's pro-democracy movement using the security law to criminalise much dissent.

Most of the city's most prominent democracy figures -- many of whom would organise and attend the annual Tiananmen vigils -- are in jail, have been arrested or have fled overseas.

- Remember in private -

The threat of mass arrests has forced those who would normally attend the vigil to think creatively.

Activists have called on residents to light candles in their own homes or neighbourhoods come Friday evening, or post commemoration messages on social media.

One campaign has called for Hong Kongers to write the numbers 6 and 4 -- representing June 4 -- on light switches at home.

"A regime can ban an assembly but it can never ban the indelible grievances in people's hearts," Lee Cheuk-yan, a now jailed democracy activist, wrote in a message published on his Facebook page on Thursday.

"I hope everyone can find your own way to light a candle by the window, on the road, wherever that can be seen by others, to continue our mourning," he added.

Much like the initial generation of Tiananmen survivors who fled abroad three decades ago, many Hong Kong democracy figures have chosen self-exile and plan to lead their own commemorations overseas.

Vigils are planned in cities like Tokyo, Sydney, Taipei, London, Berlin and Washington.

"I hope everyone can all pass on the history and truth of the June 4 massacre and the democratic movement in 1989 to the next generation by safe means," Nathan Law, a former student leader who fled to Britain last year, wrote on Facebook.

In mainland China, the Tiananmen anniversary is usually marked with a dramatic increase in online censorship and the square in Beijing being cordoned off.

- Security law -

Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong just a few weeks after last year's rally in response to 2019's huge and often violent pro-democracy protests.

It has transformed the city's once freewheeling political landscape.

More than 100 pro-democracy figures have been arrested under the new law, mostly for political views and speech.

Most are denied bail and face up to life in prison if convicted.

Pro-Beijing politicians have suggested that calls to "End one party rule" and "Bring democracy to China" -- both common chants at Tiananmen vigils -- could now be deemed subversion, one of the national security crimes in the broadly worded law.

The security legislation has been combined with a new campaign dubbed "Patriots rule Hong Kong" aimed at purging anyone perceived to be disloyal from public office.

China says the measures have restored stability.

Critics, including many western governments, say the crackdown has shredded Beijing's promise that Hong Kong could maintain key freedoms after its 1997 handover from Britain to China.

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