Hong Kong Remembered the Tiananmen Massacre, Until It Couldn’t
New York TimesJun 05, 2023
The Facts
Hong Kong police detained at least two dozen people taking part in a vigil on the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown over the weekend, including prominent pro-democracy activists.
Among those arrested were the 67-year-old campaigner Alexandra Wong, nicknamed "Grandma Wong," the former head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Mak Yin Ting, and the leader of the opposition League of Social Democrats party, Chan Po Ying.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
Beijing has continuously scaled back the civil liberties of Hong Kongers and is trying to erase the memory of a brutal massacre of pro-democracy protesters. Since the 2020 security bill, the region has been autonomous in name-only, as the mainland snuffs out any and all opposition to the repressive CCP rule. The people will never forget the atrocities committed at Tiananmen Square.
Pro-China narrative
China governs with the consent of its citizens, and no amount of Western interference will change that. Through incitement from outside actors, some troublemakers were arrested for violating the law under the guise of protesting an event that happened decades ago. Hong Kong did what was right in order to preserve social order against aggressive interlopers.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that Hong Kong will stop being a Special Administrative Region of China by September 2045, according to the Metaculus prediction community.