HONG KONG – As many as two dozen people, including pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, have been charged with taking part in an illegal vigil on June 4, marking the suppression of protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
For the first time, the vigil was banned in the semi-autonomous city with police citing coronavirus curbs for refusing permission for such gatherings. Defying the ban, tens of thousands lit candles across the city in the peaceful event.
Police said on Thursday that 19 men and 5 women, aged 23-69, had been charged with holding and taking part in an unauthorised assembly.
Wong, and six other activists, said on Facebook that they were among those charged.
“Clearly, the regime plans to stage another crackdown on the city’s activists by all means,” Wong said.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field