Hong Kong church holds June 4 commemorative event marking anniversary of Tiananmen Square crackdown amid national security law concerns
- Ward Memorial Methodist Church in Yau Ma Tei organises event on Monday night for members, involving singing of hymns and sharing of messages and prayer
- Prayer meeting comes a week after city’s Catholic churches said they would not hold annual mass commemorating 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown
A Hong Kong church on Monday held a commemorative event marking the anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square crackdown, amid concerns about legal risks under the national security law.
Ward Memorial Methodist Church in Yau Ma Tei organised a prayer meeting on Monday night, a week after the city’s Catholic churches announced they would not hold the annual mass to mourn those killed in the 1989 incident for the first time in three decades over national security law concerns.
According to a poster released by the Christian church, the event for members involved the singing of hymns, and the sharing of messages and prayer.
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“Every year during May and June, we would think about the waves and storms experienced by the motherland,” the poster read.
“No matter if it is the May Fourth Movement around a hundred years ago or the June 4 incident around 30 years ago, it still left a mark that is hard to erase in the hearts of the people.”
“We pray that the Lord will treat our country and people with kindness, bless us with peace, mend divisions, heal our wounds, and let more people return to the kingdom of our Lord.”
Reverend Yuen Tin-yau, former chairman of the Hong Kong Christian Council and president of the Methodist Church, told the Post a few dozen Christians attended the prayer meeting themed “To pray for the peace for the citizens of the country”.
