The Hong Kong Committee in Norway is disappointed and believes that Norway is complicit in self-censorship.

On Saturday, it was 33 years since Chinese soldiers rolled their tanks into Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Tens of thousands of students gathered to fight for democratic reforms on June 4, 1989.

Several foreign consulates in Hong Kong commemorated the day on social media.

But from the Norwegian side, it’s quiet.

Some arrested in Hong Kong

Every year, the day is celebrated at Victoria Park in Hong Kong. Then thousands of candles were lit. It is the only place in China that is allowed to mark the day.

In recent years, however, Beijing authorities have tightened their grip on the former semi-autonomous island nation. Police have closed Victoria Park and refused Hong Kong residents to assemble.

Despite the warning, several activists showed up at the park on Saturday afternoon. According to the AP news agency, police have used substantial resources to prevent all public markings on the day, and several have been arrested.

Alert the consulate

In addition, the Chinese Foreign Service, according to the Hong Kong Free Press, has warned foreign consulates not to mark the day. The newspaper wrote that authorities had informed the consulate that marking the previous day was illegal, and that the day was not to be remembered.

Several consulates opposed the warning by publishing warning words on social media.

A post from the EU Consulates in Hong Kong and Macau has been shared by several countries, including France, Poland, Finland, Sweden and Germany.

The post stated that the EU “always stands in solidarity with human rights defenders around the world”.

The US and Canadian consulates also used social media to draw attention to the brutal massacre.

Both English and Poland have used creative methods to comment on the incident.

The British Embassy in Beijing has mentioned one memorial in Manchester which has a very similar history to the Tiananmen Square massacre. One of the subtitles reads “Every society that wants to thrive must be honest about its history.”

No public statements from Norway

From the Norwegian Foreign Service in China, on the other hand, quiet.

Jessica Chiu of the Hong Kong Committee in Norway reacted to this.

– The fact that Norway will not print a word of warning, I find disappointing.

Chiu said Norway often receives sanctions and criticism, if other countries, and especially the EU, also support it.

– Here comes the self-censorship behind it. But this is not the first time.

He pointed out that Norway had no comment regarding Liu Xiaobo’s illness and death in 2017.

– I hope that the Norwegian authorities will be critical when countries oppress their inhabitants. They need to be more vocal about this, he said.

Together with Amnesty Norway, Chiu and the Hong Kong Committee commemorated the anniversary by laying flowers at the “Pillar of Shame” memorial.

The statue is a copy of the statue that stood in Hong Kong as a memorial to the massacre in Beijing. In 2021, the management of the University of Hong Kong chose to remove the statue. The copy was unveiled on May 25.

Aftenposten has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment on why Norway does not mark the day publicly, as Sweden, Finland, France and other countries do.

“Norway does not have its own foreign service mission in Hong Kong. The Norwegian side has repeatedly expressed to Chinese authorities our concern about the state of freedom of expression in Hong Kong and called on China to respect the principle of “one country, two systems”, wrote spokeswoman Ane Haavardsdatter. Lunde in e-mail.

Norwegian Chinese Relations

In recent years, there has been strong criticism of the government, and of what they want to do to get back on track with China.

After opposition politician Liu Xiaobo received the Peace Prize in 2010, Norway ended up in China’s diplomatic “freezer box”. Since then, extensive efforts have been made to get back on track with the Asian superpower.

In 2016, Norway signed one normalization agreement with China. There, the Norwegian government undertakes to avoid any action that could harm China’s interests or undermine bilateral cooperation.

The government has also been working on a free trade agreement with China. And in 2020, it was revealed how Norwegian sport has been used to improve relations between Norway and China.