HONG KONG – Some Hong Kong shopkeepers are quietly commemorating the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown despite the spectre of a China-imposed national security law and pressure to stay silent on the episode, which is censored in mainland China.

Hong Kong used to play a leading global role in commemorating the 1989 crackdown by Chinese troops in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, in what was long seen as a symbol of the city’s relative openness compared with mainland China.

Since Hong Kong’s anti-government protest movement in 2019, however, China has imposed a national security law and the latitude to commemorate June 4 has shrunk.

Beijing says the law is necessary to restore stability after the demonstrations.

No public Tiananmen vigils have been held since 2020, while several sculptures on university campuses have been removed, and books on the events removed from public libraries.

The alliance that once organised the vigil has been disbanded following the arrests of several of their leaders in 2021.

This year, no local groups have applied to hold a public June 4 event.

But Agence France-Presse reported on Saturday that the police detained at least four performance artistes, with one repeatedly chanting “Don’t forget June 4! Hong Kong people don’t be afraid of them!” before the authorities bundled him into a police bus.

The authorities did not say if they were being formally arrested.

The police earlier said they “will make appropriate operational deployment in accordance with the threat to public safety, public order and national security”.

When asked about the matter, Hong Kong’s top security official on Monday warned people not to violate national security laws on “special occasions”.

However, some like Ms Debby Chan, the owner of a grocery shop, said she will continue to give away “June 4” candles to her customers despite a visit to her shop by police officers over the past week.

“The commemoration of June 4th cannot be broken. It’s a symbol of Hong Kong’s civil society,” Ms Chan told Reuters.

Mr Sum Wan Wah, the owner of a small, independent bookshop, said he still sells books such as May 35th by Hong Kong playwright Candace Chong, about an elderly couple contending with the killing of their son in the square.

“A lot of the books related to June 4 are no longer being published or are out of stock,” said Mr Sum, who set up a display of Tiananmen-related books and old newspaper clippings in a corner of his bookshop, called Have A Nice Stay.

“All this makes us try to spend time to preserve books that have disappeared from the public domain.”

Another bookshop owner, Ms Leticia Wong, who also displays Tiananmen-related books and sells copies of Ms Chong’s play, said she has been visited many times by government departments over the past week.

“No one said the books we sell are illegal, so I assume they’re legal,” said Ms Wong, who runs the Hunter Bookstore.

The Fire Services Department said late on Friday night that “suspected unauthorised building works were noted inside the subject bookstore and the case was referred to the relevant department for follow-up action”. REUTERS