Hong Kong Artist Sanmu Chen Detained for Silent, Symbolic Commemoration of Tiananmen Square Massacre
Hong Kong
PEN America and Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) condemns the detention of performance artist Sanmu Chen by Hong Kong police after he seemed to write “8964” in the air with his hand, a reference to the date of the Tiananmen Square massacre (1989, June 4), just before the 35th anniversary. Mr. Chen was released later that evening by the police, but ARC remains concerned for his safety, anticipating charges to be filed against him, as seen in similar cases, once media and international attention has moved on.
“The continued crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, coupled with the Chinese authorities’ sensitivity to the memory of Tiananmen Square, is the clearest articulation of the near totalitarian effort to quash artistic freedom and free speech in China and Hong Kong today,” said Julie Trébault, Managing Director of ARC. “As China expands its influence, including its use of soft power in arts and cultural spaces and institutions, the arrest of Sanmu Chen for silent and symbolic performance art should make it clear that artists under Chinese rule are paying the price for accommodation of this authoritarian power.”
Public acknowledgment of the Tiananmen Square massacre has long been banned in mainland China, and is effectively criminalized in Hong Kong since the introduction of a 2020 National Security Law (NSL) that has all but wiped out public dissent. Hong Kong authorities have also restricted the right to peaceful assembly through laws such as the
Public Order Ordinance, which requires that a police permit be procured for demonstrations – an order that was revised in 2017 to allow authorities to prohibit the display of any flag, artwork or other symbol at public gatherings if they believed the display would lead to a breach of peace.
The detention of Mr. Chen comes just days after a Hong Kong court concluded the trial of the “Hong Kong 47” – a group of 47 pro-democracy activists, including artists, human rights defenders, union leaders, students, politicians, and journalists. A total of 45 were found guilty or agreed to guilty plea deals ahead of the trial and could face up to life in prison under the draconian NSL.
Sanmu Chen has persisted in his efforts to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre, despite being arrested exactly a year ago when 23 protesters were arrested for gathering to commemorate the 34th anniversary. At that protest, he chanted, “Don’t forget June 4! Hong Kong people, don’t be afraid of them!” before he was taken away. Earlier in 2023, Hong Kong police seized the Pillar of Shame, a sculpture that sat at Hong Kong University’s campus for 24 years to remind Hong Kongers of the murder of peaceful protesters, and stripped public libraries of books about the Tiananmen Massacre amid a purge of literature brought about by the NSL. In 2021, police blocked off Hong Kong’s Victoria Park ahead of that year’s commemoration and arrested Chow Hang Tung, vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, for organizing the planned event.
Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) IS dedicated to assisting imperiled artists and fortifying the field of organizations that support them. ARC released Connecting the Dots: Artist Protection and Artistic Freedom in Asia, a publication on the state of artistic freedom in Asia, as well as a limited series podcast, Creating Artistic Resilience: Voices of Asia, featuring interviews with artist-activists from Asia, including an episode with Kacey Wong, activist and visual artist from Hong Kong. If you or someone you know is an artist at risk, contact ARC.
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June 4, 2024