Hong Kong police release activists detained over weekend demonstration

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Police in Hong Kong on Monday released 23 people who had been detained for marking the 1989 Tiananmen massacre -- when Chinese soldiers brutally suppressed pro-democracy student-led protests.

“The people were not arrested but were taken to police station, after that they were released today,” Hong Kong police said in a statement to RTHK News after Sunday's protests.

Apart from the people detained, a 53-year-old woman was arrested for “obstructing” a police officer by refusing to show her ID card, the police said.

Spooked by mass anti-government agitation in 2019 that resulted in violence, Beijing imposed a controversial national security law in Hong Kong in 2020.

Besides, it barred people in Hong Kong from holding any kind of remembrance of the 1989 events.

The 1989 student-led protests started on April 15 and were forcibly suppressed on June 4 when the Chinese government sent the military to seize control of Tiananmen Square in central Beijing. Nearly 300 people were killed and 7,000 injured, including soldiers.

In mainland China, mentioning the Tiananmen massacre is considered a taboo subject.

Ahead of the anniversary of the massacre, Wang Wenbin, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters: "Regarding the political incident that occurred in the late 1980s, the Chinese government has already made a clear conclusion ... firmly support all efforts to maintain national security and the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong."

In a statement on Twitter late Sunday, the UN expressed alarm at the detentions and called on the authorities in Hong Kong "to fully abide by obligations under international covenant on civil and political rights.”