A candlelight vigil, held in Hong Kong's Victoria Park on Tuesday, remembered the victims of the 1989 massacre in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Massive Hong Kong vigil held 30 years after Tiananmen
A candlelight vigil, held in Hong Kong's Victoria Park on Tuesday, remembered the victims of the 1989 massacre in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Kin Cheung/AP

Updated 2:38 PM EDT, Tue June 4, 2019

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hong Kong's Victoria Park on Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

The mood was funereal but defiant as people paid respect to those who died three decades ago.

Hundreds of people were killed on June 4, 1989, as Chinese troops cracked down on pro-democracy protesters around Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The massacre made headlines around the world — with iconic images such as the "Tank Man" bravely defying the troops on the square — but it particularly resonated in Hong Kong, which was then eight years away from being handed over from British to Chinese control.

Hong Kong is the only place on Chinese soil where major mass commemorations are held for the event.

There were emotional scenes during the two-hour-long memorial Tuesday, particularly during a video address by Zhang Xianling, one of the surviving members of the Tiananmen Mothers, a group set up by those who lost children during the massacre.

"The grief threatened to crush us, but it has now been transformed into our motivation to fight for justice," Zhang said.

The annual candlelight vigil has been taking place in Hong Kong's Victoria Park since 1990. The vigil calls for the release of all dissidents, rehabilitation of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, accountability for the massacre, the end of one-party dictatorship and the start of a democratic China.
The annual candlelight vigil has been taking place in Hong Kong's Victoria Park since 1990. The vigil calls for the release of all dissidents, rehabilitation of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, accountability for the massacre, the end of one-party dictatorship and the start of a democratic China.
Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images
For many who lived in Hong Kong in 1989, the massacre quashed their hopes that a rapidly reforming China would also bring democracy to the city. "Young people in China were demanding democracy," Lee Cheuk-yan, one of the organizers, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/02/asia/june-4-tiananmen-china-hong-kong/index.html" target="_blank">told CNN in 2017.</a> "We felt that if they made it, it meant Hong Kong would not have to live under an authoritarian regime." The massacre forever changed the character of Hong Kong, Lee said. "In the past we were something of an economic city, but after 1989 we became a political city."
For many who lived in Hong Kong in 1989, the massacre quashed their hopes that a rapidly reforming China would also bring democracy to the city. "Young people in China were demanding democracy," Lee Cheuk-yan, one of the organizers, told CNN in 2017. "We felt that if they made it, it meant Hong Kong would not have to live under an authoritarian regime." The massacre forever changed the character of Hong Kong, Lee said. "In the past we were something of an economic city, but after 1989 we became a political city."
Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images
While <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/04/asia/hong-kong-tiananmen/" target="_blank">attendance at the annual vigil has fluctuated</a> — with some, particularly younger people, complaining that the focus on democracy in China ignores more pressing demands for reform in the city — key anniversaries have always brought massive numbers to Victoria Park. According to the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, more than 200,000 people attended a commemoration in 2009, and 180,000 came out in 2014 for the 25th anniversary.
While attendance at the annual vigil has fluctuated — with some, particularly younger people, complaining that the focus on democracy in China ignores more pressing demands for reform in the city — key anniversaries have always brought massive numbers to Victoria Park. According to the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, more than 200,000 people attended a commemoration in 2009, and 180,000 came out in 2014 for the 25th anniversary.
Kin Cheung/AP
Tens of thousands filled Victoria Park on Tuesday, ignoring sweltering heat and threatening clouds overhead. Most wore black and almost all held candles overhead. The crowd chanted: "Demand accountability for the massacre! End one-party dictatorship! Build a democratic China!"
Tens of thousands filled Victoria Park on Tuesday, ignoring sweltering heat and threatening clouds overhead. Most wore black and almost all held candles overhead. The crowd chanted: "Demand accountability for the massacre! End one-party dictatorship! Build a democratic China!"
Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images
Students at the University of Hong Kong clean the "Pillar of Shame" statue, a memorial for those killed in the 1989 crackdown.
Students at the University of Hong Kong clean the "Pillar of Shame" statue, a memorial for those killed in the 1989 crackdown.
Kin Cheung/AP
Students at the University of Hong Kong observe a minute of silence in front of the "Pillar of Shame" statue.
Students at the University of Hong Kong observe a minute of silence in front of the "Pillar of Shame" statue.
Kin Cheung/AP
A Chinese paramilitary police officer stands guard in front of Mao Zedong's portrait on Beijing's Tiananmen Gate on Tuesday.
A Chinese paramilitary police officer stands guard in front of Mao Zedong's portrait on Beijing's Tiananmen Gate on Tuesday.
Ng Han Guan/AP