Hong Kong police stop artist with question mark balloon on Tiananmen anniversary eve

Hong Kong police stopped and searched performance artist Chan Mei-tung in Causeway Bay on June 3, 2026, the eve of the Tiananmen crackdown anniversary. Chan appeared with a question mark-shaped balloon near Victoria Park, a site once known for its large Tiananmen anniversary vigils.

Police demanded Chan's ID and searched her belongings. When asked by reporters about the balloon's meaning, Chan described it as being for a "proposal." Authorities then escorted her to a nearby MTR station, where she destroyed the balloon after being informed it was banned on the metro.

“

It’s abnormal that, whenever we are saying or doing something, we are being monitored.

Earlier the same evening, another performance artist, Sanmu Chan, was also stopped and searched by plainclothes officers. He was displaying a piece of red string measuring 6.4 meters, a length seemingly referencing the June 4 date of the crackdown. Sanmu Chan expressed frustration, telling reporters, "It’s abnormal that, whenever we are saying or doing something, we are being monitored."

The Tiananmen crackdown on June 4, 1989, ended months of student-led protests in China, with estimates of hundreds to thousands of deaths. Mass vigils in Hong Kong's Victoria Park have not been officially permitted since 2019. Following the imposition of the national security law in June 2020, the group that organized the vigils was disbanded, and its leaders now face trial. This year, a week-long patriotic food carnival occupied Victoria Park.

“

proposal