<p>Hong Kong police have arrested an elderly democracy activist as she made a solo demonstration over China's deadly Tiananmen crackdown in a vivid illustration of the zero protest tolerance now wielded by authorities in the financial hub.</p>.<p>Alexandra Wong, 65, was detained on Sunday on suspicion of taking part in an unlawful assembly as she walked towards Beijing's Liaison Office in Hong Kong.</p>.<p>Wong — known locally as "Grandma Wong" — was a regular fixture of the huge democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019.</p>.<p>She could often be seen waving a Union Jack flag, a symbol of her dissatisfaction with Beijing's rule since the city was handed to China by former colonial power Britain in 1997.</p>.<p>Protest is now all but outlawed in Hong Kong.</p>.<p>Authorities have used both the threat of the coronavirus and security concerns to ban demonstrations.</p>.<p>A vigil planned for this Friday — the 32nd anniversary of Beijing's 1989 crackdown on democracy protests in Tiananmen Square — has been denied permission for the second year in a row.</p>.<p>Authorities have cited the coronavirus, although Hong Kong is currently celebrating no local transmission cases of unknown origin for the last month.</p>.<p>Activists had also sought permission for a small Tiananmen-themed march on Sunday to the Liaison Office, which represents the central government in the city, but it was also denied permission.</p>.<p>Wong turned up anyway that afternoon holding as sign that read "32, June 4, Tiananmen's lament" and a yellow umbrella — the latter a symbol of Hong Kong's democracy movement.</p>.<p>The South China Morning Post said the pensioner started chanting slogans in a park before heading towards the Liaison Office by herself, while being followed and filmed by police.</p>.<p>She was stopped twice.</p>.<p>"I'm only by myself, just an old lady here. Why stop me?" the Post quoted Wong as telling officers.</p>.<p>Soon afterwards she was arrested.</p>.<p>Police confirmed a 65-year-old woman surnamed Wong had been arrested for "knowingly participating in an unauthorised assembly and attempting to incite others to join an unauthorised assembly."</p>.<p>Hong Kong's democracy movement has been crushed by a broad crackdown on dissent over the last year, including the imposition of a sweeping security law that criminalises much dissent.</p>.<p>In the middle of the 2019 protests Wong disappeared for more than a year.</p>.<p>She resurfaced saying she had been detained by mainland authorities during a trip to Shenzhen, a neighbouring city where she lived at the time.</p>
<p>Hong Kong police have arrested an elderly democracy activist as she made a solo demonstration over China's deadly Tiananmen crackdown in a vivid illustration of the zero protest tolerance now wielded by authorities in the financial hub.</p>.<p>Alexandra Wong, 65, was detained on Sunday on suspicion of taking part in an unlawful assembly as she walked towards Beijing's Liaison Office in Hong Kong.</p>.<p>Wong — known locally as "Grandma Wong" — was a regular fixture of the huge democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019.</p>.<p>She could often be seen waving a Union Jack flag, a symbol of her dissatisfaction with Beijing's rule since the city was handed to China by former colonial power Britain in 1997.</p>.<p>Protest is now all but outlawed in Hong Kong.</p>.<p>Authorities have used both the threat of the coronavirus and security concerns to ban demonstrations.</p>.<p>A vigil planned for this Friday — the 32nd anniversary of Beijing's 1989 crackdown on democracy protests in Tiananmen Square — has been denied permission for the second year in a row.</p>.<p>Authorities have cited the coronavirus, although Hong Kong is currently celebrating no local transmission cases of unknown origin for the last month.</p>.<p>Activists had also sought permission for a small Tiananmen-themed march on Sunday to the Liaison Office, which represents the central government in the city, but it was also denied permission.</p>.<p>Wong turned up anyway that afternoon holding as sign that read "32, June 4, Tiananmen's lament" and a yellow umbrella — the latter a symbol of Hong Kong's democracy movement.</p>.<p>The South China Morning Post said the pensioner started chanting slogans in a park before heading towards the Liaison Office by herself, while being followed and filmed by police.</p>.<p>She was stopped twice.</p>.<p>"I'm only by myself, just an old lady here. Why stop me?" the Post quoted Wong as telling officers.</p>.<p>Soon afterwards she was arrested.</p>.<p>Police confirmed a 65-year-old woman surnamed Wong had been arrested for "knowingly participating in an unauthorised assembly and attempting to incite others to join an unauthorised assembly."</p>.<p>Hong Kong's democracy movement has been crushed by a broad crackdown on dissent over the last year, including the imposition of a sweeping security law that criminalises much dissent.</p>.<p>In the middle of the 2019 protests Wong disappeared for more than a year.</p>.<p>She resurfaced saying she had been detained by mainland authorities during a trip to Shenzhen, a neighbouring city where she lived at the time.</p>