Amid Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, this vigil became a flashpoint. Thousands of protesters defied police in 2020 to take part in the memorial, after police gave orders forbidding large gatherings.
Bishop Joseph Ha, an auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong, presided over a June 4 memorial vigil Mass in 2020 amid media reports that he would be passed over as a candidate for bishop of Hong Kong because of his criticism of the Chinese government.
In his homily on June 4, Ha said: “Let us pray together for our people, our compatriots, as the students and civilians of the time did, who sacrificed themselves not for their own interests, but for the future of the country, of the people.”
“They are now dead, but why did they die? How did they die? The mothers of these young people — the Mothers of Tiananmen — expressed their humble request: to obtain justice for the 1989 Movement; launch an investigation into the case and make the truth public, and finally, publicly ask for forgiveness from the families of the victims,” he said.
The bishop pointed out that Hong Kongers have marked many “June 4ths” over the past three decades, including the handover from Britain to China on June 4, 1997, national security law protests on June 4, 2004, the “Umbrella Movement” in 2014, and the national security law in 2020.
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