The association that organized a vigil for more than 30 years in Macau in honor of the victims of the Tiananmen massacre was extinguished for fear of the new national security law, one of those responsible told Lusa today.
“Taking into account the revision of the national security law and the unpredictability of the future, the Macau Union for the Development of Democracy [UMDD] made the decision”, justified Au Kam San, a former deputy and one of the founders of the association, referring to that the step was taken “three or four months ago”.
In the Official Bulletin of the territory, it is possible to confirm the end of UMDD activity.
Last week, the Legislative Assembly of Macau gave the green light to amendments to the State security law, which provides, among other provisions, to punish anyone abroad who commits crimes against the territory.
The proposal was approved in just half an hour and without challenge. In the declaration of vote, deputy Ron Lam U Tou said he hoped that the diploma “does not jeopardize freedom of expression”.
“I was concerned that after the law was revised, if one person said something, other members [of the association] could be affected. In that case, if we had to be held accountable in the future, we hoped that other members would not be implicated,” added Au Kam San, also speaking on behalf of Ng Kuok Cheong, another UMDD founder.
Regarding “the historical significance” of the union, founded in 1990 and registered in 1991, Au noted that, “at that time, it was the only organization that had the objective of promoting democracy” and especially “the clear objective of responding to the democratic movement in China and promote the development of democracy in Macao”.
“At the time, it was a unique organization,” he noted.
In the last three decades, it was through this group that the incident of June 4, 1989 was remembered in Macau, with the annual organization of a traveling photographic exhibition and a vigil. But now, “there have been changes in the political environment”, he noted, saying that, “for this reason, the activities that mark the 4th of June cannot be celebrated”.
On June 4, 1989, the Chinese army advanced with tanks to disperse peaceful protests led by students in Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, who called for democratic reforms for the country, causing a death toll that is still the subject of discussion today. Estimates reach 10,000 victims, although Beijing argues that the repression of “counterrevolutionary riots” led to the death of two hundred civilians.
Last year, Au Kam San and Ng Kuok Cheong told Lusa that they had not, for the first time, addressed a request to the authorities to publicly mark the 4th of June, opting to mark the event privately and on social networks.
In the previous two years, the Institute for Municipal Affairs of the Government of Macau did not authorize the use of public spaces for the photographic exhibition. Also in 2020, the authorities prohibited, in Macau and Hong Kong, for the first time in 30 years, the holding of the vigil in public space, in a decision justified by the measures to prevent the covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the PSP cited for the first time political reasons to ban the commemoration, alleging a risk of violations of the Penal Code, namely the articles on “offense against a legal person that exercises public authority” and “incitement to violently change the established system”. . A decision validated later by the Court of Last Instance, when an appeal was filed against the decision of the authorities.
Like last year, this June 4, the tribute to the victims of Tiananmen moves from the streets to the private sphere, with Au Kam San publishing historical information on the social network Facebook “as permitted by law”.
The activist admitted that he will also leave candles burning in an online broadcast, as he did last year.
