Hong Kong used to be the only place in China where the victims of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy activists at Tiananmen Square in Beijing could be publicly mourned in a candlelight vigil. However, this year, Hong Kong is being made to forget the massacre in many ways. Leading up to the June 4 anniversary, small shops that displayed items related to the crackdown were closely monitored, while thousands of officers patrolled the streets in the district where the vigil was normally held. Several people were arrested and detained for trying to mourn. The fact that virtually all forms of dissent have been criminalized in Hong Kong since China imposed a national security law on the city in 2020 has made it difficult for citizens to mourn the victims of the Tiananmen massacre. The authorities have also targeted the smallest gestures of remembrance, such as the placing of electric candles on display in a local grocery store. Resistance remains in Hong Kong, which used to draw huge support from China’s pro-democracy movement. However, with the passing of time, the relevance of the mainland-focused movement was questioned by the city’s younger generation of activists who have embraced a distinct Hong Kong identity.
