Hong Kong June 4 vigil organizers to disband amid crackdown

HONG KONG (AP) — The Hong Kong group that had organized annual vigils in remembrance of victims of the Chinese military’s crushing of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests has voted to disband amid a crackdown on independent political activism in the semi-autonomous city. Police had notified the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China last month that it was under investigation for working for foreign interests, an accusation the group denied. While it called the probe an abuse of power, core members voted 41-4 to lay the 32-year-old group to rest. Tens of thousands of people had attended the annual vigil, until authorities banned it in 2020. The crackdown follows mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.