Since the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident, Hong Kong became the only place within China where people could openly mourn the “June 4th incident”. For three decades, candlelight vigils on June 4th in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park marked an annual commemoration. However, starting from 2020, the government cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to reject applications for these vigils.

Even though Hong Kong society has returned to normal this year, the denial of the vigil persisted. The government even designated this day as a “special day”, deploying over 5,000 police forces for security. The mere presence of citizens near Victoria Park, led to police dispersals, with some individuals even facing arrests. Journalists were arbitrarily detained, and the United Nations expressed shock at the high-profile arrests by the Hong Kong police.