24 people charged over Tiananmen vigil

Two dozen democracy advocates in Hong Kong were charged Thursday with taking part in an annual vigil honoring the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, the latest sign of the clampdown on dissent in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

The charges came as authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong invoked a new national security law to crack down on the opposition.

The June 4 Tiananmen vigil has been held for decades but was banned for the first time this year because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The charges, tied to an event before the imposition of the national security law, came a week after a dozen pro-democracy candidates, including sitting lawmakers, were barred from running in legislative elections in September. The next day, Hong Kong’s government postponed the election by one year, using the pandemic to justify the move.

The 24 people charged Thursday include Lee Cheukyan, a veteran organizer of the annual vigils; Joshua Wong, a prominent activist; and Gwyneth Ho, a former journalist. Wong and Ho were also among the candidates disqualified from running in the legislative election. They were accused of “knowingly taking part in an unauthorized assembly.”

Lee, 63, a former lawmaker, faced an additional charge of “holding an unauthorized assembly.” In June, he and several other leaders of the group that organized the candlelight vigil were charged with inciting others to join the commemoration.