Group to move June 4 vigil online again

Following last year’s online vigil, the Macau Union for Democratic Development, represented by member and lawmaker Au Kam San, said at a press conference yesterday that this year’s vigil would also be held online.
Unlike last year, the group will not invite in-person public participation this time. Au stressed that members of the public can still watch the vigil online, which will be broadcast on the group’s social media platform.
At the time of the press conference, the judgement of the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) had not yet come out. Au stressed at the press conference that, regardless of the judgement, the vigil will be hosted online.
Yesterday evening, the court ruled in favor of the police.
The decision to not invite in-person public participation, as explained by Au, was made in order to avoid adversely affecting participants, because if the vigil is considered illegal by the police and the court, participation could be subject to criminal prosecution.
Au said that even if members of the public chose not to or will not have time to watch the online vigil, the group invites them to light a candle at home in that evening, or do whatever they consider appropriate for the occasion.
Those participating online, meanwhile, can leave comments on the social media page, which may be selected by the organizers to be read out during the vigil, Au said.
At the press conference, Au described the decision of the police to ban this year’s vigil — on the grounds of libel, defamation and instigation of devastation, alteration or subversion of an established system — as ridiculous.
He reiterated that with the law unchanged since 1995, the law is being used to ban an activity even older than the law itself.
In addition, he stressed that the slogans cited by the police to justify the ban had long fallen out of use by the group. “We have changed to call for the construction of a democratic China, which I believe not even the mainland government [would] oppose,” he said.
When questioned as to whether they will commit criminal offenses, Au anticipates the group carrying out the vigil in a safe manner, with slogans that are not perceived as violating the law.
The online vigil will be held at 8 p.m. on June 4.