The Guardian view on the Tiananmen vigil convictions: Hong Kong too has been silenced. Others should speak out | Editorial

Two activists who organised commemorations of the bloody crackdown on China’s 1989 pro-democracy protests now face jail. Remembering is not a crimeFor decades, Hong Kong mourned when the mainland could not. Its huge annual Tiananmen vigil kept alive the memory of the 1989 pro-reform protests in Beijing, and of the massacre that suppressed them. Along with Macau, it was the only place in China where the anniversary could be publicly marked and the truth preserved.But the crackdown on the 2019 uprising in Hong Kong has crushed the freedoms that the region once enjoyed. That year’s vigil was the last. On Friday, two leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance, which organised the commemoration, were convicted of incitement to subversion under the draconian national security law. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, face up to 10 years in jail.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...