Light Candles Everywhere On June 4: Vigil Organisers

The organisers of the annual candlelight vigil held to remember the Tiananmen Square massacre called on the people to light candles wherever they are on June 4 this year due to the government ban on public gatherings.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China also accused Chief Executive Carrie Lam of using the prohibition, introduced weeks back to battle the Covid-19 situation, as an excuse to ban the event, which is held at Victoria Park every year.

In a Facebook post, the alliance accused Lam of trying to "extinguish the 30-year-old candlelight vigil" and of trying to clamp down on Hong Kong people's freedoms.

The alliance said people should light candles at 8pm on that day and observe a minute's silence at 8:09 to remember the 1989 student uprising against the Chinese Communist Party that ended in a bloody crackdown.

It also is asking people to post social media messages to attract global attention to the event.

Stations will be set up all around Hong Kong to distribute candles on May 31, it said.

The authorities announced on Tuesday that a social gathering ban, which prohibits any group gathering of more than eight persons in any public place, would be extended until June 4.

Lam and health officials have denied that the decision was politically-motivated and said the step was solely based on the coronavirus situation.