Hong Kong police to put Victoria Park on lockdown, deploy 7,000 officers across city amid calls to attend banned Tiananmen vigil
- About 3,000 officers will be stationed on Hong Kong Island, including near the park site in Causeway Bay and Beijing’s liaison office in Sai Ying Pun
- Others will be in Mong Kok, where the June 4 museum originally intended to observe the anniversary before it was forced to close amid a licensing probe
Earlier this week, the force said it planned to deploy more than 3,000 officers to handle any eventuality, then later more than doubled the manpower after carrying out a risk assessment.
The deployment of 7,000 officers is about 3,000 fewer than the number mobilised in 2017 when President Xi Jinping and other state leaders came to Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty.
“The manpower is for the whole city, and about 3,000 of them will be stationed on Hong Kong Island to enhance security around Victoria Park and other high-risk locations, such as Beijing’s liaison office in Sai Ying Pun,” a police source said.
In addition to setting up roadblocks and carrying out stop-and-search checks near the venue, police will use the Public Order Ordinance to close the football pitches and lawn areas of the park on Friday evening.
The source said some of the officers involved would remain on standby and be deployed if crowds turned up. “Some of them will be on the ground to carry out high-profile patrols to dissuade groups gathering.”
Another source said police would “stringently enforce social-distancing rules and take resolute action if the law is broken”.
In Kowloon, police will enhance security in Mong Kok, where vigil organisers the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China originally planned to open its June 4 museum so people could place floral tributes to those killed in the crackdown.
The alliance temporarily closed the museum on Wednesday after the government launched an investigation it said was prompted by a complaint that the venue lacked the necessary operating licence.
The 7,000 officers deployed on Friday will mostly be drawn from the regional response contingents that formed the backbone of the 6,000-strong anti-riot squad established in the second half of 2019 to handle that year’s anti-government protests.
The squad was later disbanded, with officers returning to regular duties, in the latter half of 2020 after the social unrest waned.
Meanwhile, the US consulate in Hong Kong and Macau advised employees to avoid Victoria Park on Friday from 4pm to midnight, exercise caution when approaching large gatherings or demonstrations anywhere in the city, and keep a low profile.
“The HKPF [Hong Kong Police Force] are expected to arrest anyone in violation of the citywide assembly ban,” the consulate said.
Police also reminded the public in a statement on Thursday night that no one should join, advertise or publicise assemblies or gatherings that might be in breach of the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation.
The force added that people should also avoid gatherings to reduce Covid-19 transmission risks, warning sufficient manpower would be deployed at concerned locations.
Additional reporting by Danny Mok
