Eric Gordon, editor and founder of the Camden New Journal, Islington Tribune and Westminster Extra, died in April at the age of 89

• ERIC Gordon retained a lifelong interest in China following his experience there under house arrest in the mid-1960s.

He went to China to explore what Mao Zedong’s revolution meant for ordinary Chinese people.

However his experience of house arrest and relentless interrogation, on the grounds of being a spy, did not daunt his commitment to the principles of freedom and justice that had taken him there and that later inspired his decision to found the Camden New Journal.

It was these same principles that inspired the events of June Fourth 1989.

As we approach the 32nd anniversary of the 1989 pro-democracy movement and the June Fourth massacre in China, readers will be reminded of the continuing struggle by the people of Hong Kong to commemorate all those who lost their lives, were disappeared, or were imprisoned after the suppression of their peaceful protest.

The largest June Fourth commemoration vigil used to take place in Hong Kong. But since 2020 the Beijing-backed Hong Kong government has used the pretext of the pandemic to crack down on public commemoration of the events.

The adoption in 2020 of the draconian national security law in Hong Kong has led to the imprisonment of large numbers of political activists.

Many who participated in the June Fourth vigil last year have been charged, and a number of them, including leading independent trade unionists Carol Ng and Winnie Yu, have been sentenced to prison terms.

Many Hong Kongers continue to face trials for participating in peaceful assembly. The trial of 47 pro-democracy activists arrested in March is going to be taken to the high court, where the maximum penalty that each defendant could face will be increased from seven years’ imprisonment to life.

So in joining in the vigil in London tomorrow (Friday) June 4 to honour the memory of all those in China who rallied for democracy in the spring / summer of 1989, and to show solidarity with those who are now prevented from doing so in China and Hong Kong, I also want to honour the legacy of the late Eric Gordon.

• The vigil for June Fourth 1989 will be held outside the Chinese Embassy at Portland Place, London W1B 1JL, with an 8pm start, followed by vigil at 9pm.

HARRIET EVANS
Highgate Road, NW5