--- title: June 4, 1989: Annual Tiananmen Vigil Creates Divisions in Hong Kong description: Many youth groups have opted out of the 26th annual vigil, saying Hong Kong's democratic struggle must take precedence canonical: https://time.com/3908551/tiananmen-massacre-june-4-1989-hong-kong-vigil-hkfs/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-04T07:59:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:30.770Z article:section: World og:title: Hong Kong Divided Over How Best to Remember Tiananmen og:description: Student groups opt out of the main vigil commmemorating the 1989 crackdown. og:url: https://time.com/3908551/tiananmen-massacre-june-4-1989-hong-kong-vigil-hkfs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bf5edf4ed39a8b/698852f135ba6f3416c0d912/gettyimages-495535429.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Hong Kong Marks 25th Anniversary Of Tiananmen Square Protests With Candlelight Vigil og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hong Kong Divided Over How Best to Remember Tiananmen twitter:description: Student groups opt out of the main vigil commmemorating the 1989 crackdown. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18bf5edf4ed39a8b/698852f135ba6f3416c0d912/gettyimages-495535429.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Tiananmen Massacre Has Created Divisions in the Only Chinese City Able to Commemorate It > Sponsored content. 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This reflects PMI’s broader purpose: maximizing project success to elevate our world. ### Sources * Project Management Institute | [pmi.org](/c/pmi-2026-q3/home?i=7f87f3da-7f98-43f3-b223-f71324fb8af0&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—Fourteenth Edition" | [pmi.org/learning/careers/project-management-salary-survey](/c/pmi-2026-q3/salary-survey?i=7f87f3da-7f98-43f3-b223-f71324fb8af0&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Global Project Management Talent Gap" | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/global-project-management-talent-gap](/c/pmi-2026-q3/talent-gap?i=7f87f3da-7f98-43f3-b223-f71324fb8af0&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Maximizing Project Success" | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/project-success](/c/pmi-2026-q3/project-success?i=7f87f3da-7f98-43f3-b223-f71324fb8af0&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Pulse Report 2025: Boosting Business Acumen” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/boosting-business-acumen](/c/pmi-2026-q3/business-acumen?i=7f87f3da-7f98-43f3-b223-f71324fb8af0&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Pulse of the Profession® 2026: Driving Success in Complex Projects” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/driving-success-in-complex-projects](/c/pmi-2026-q3/complex-projects?i=7f87f3da-7f98-43f3-b223-f71324fb8af0&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Step Up: Redefining the Path to Project Success with M.O.R.E.” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/path-to-project-success](/c/pmi-2026-q3/more-mindset?i=7f87f3da-7f98-43f3-b223-f71324fb8af0&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI Education Foundation, PMIEF 2024 Annual Report, [pmi.org PMIEF 2024 Annual Report (PDF)](/c/pmi-2026-q3/pmief-report?i=7f87f3da-7f98-43f3-b223-f71324fb8af0&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) ### FAQ structured data (JSON-LD, optional) ## Video: Behind the Iconic Tank Man Photo [Watch (HLS stream): Behind the Iconic Tank Man Photo](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9ktJjcpE.m3u8) (5:35)  _Published 2014-06-04. Behind the Iconic Tank Man Photo_ by [Rishi Iyengar / Hong Kong](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar / Hong Kong Jun 4, 2015 7:59 AM UTC  Thousands of people crowd Victoria Park in Hong Kong to mark the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests with a candle light vigil on June 4, 2014 Thousands of people crowd Victoria Park in Hong Kong to mark the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square protests with a candle light vigil on June 4, 2014 Jessica Hromas—Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar / Hong Kong](https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar / Hong Kong Jun 4, 2015 7:59 AM UTC For more than a quarter of a century, while China censored and suppressed all mention of the event, Hong Kong has defiantly commemorated the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre that took place in Beijing on June 4, 1989, when soldiers brutally crushed a weeks-long pro-democracy protest. Ever since, tens of thousands of Hong Kong people have gathered for the [annual candlelight vigil at the city’s central Victoria Park](http://time.com/2823269/watch-hong-kong-holds-candlelight-vigil-on-tiananmen-square-anniversary/). This year, however, the normally sacrosanct unity represented by the vigil is being threatened because some of the student groups that have traditionally attended the event are deciding to opt out of it. Most prominent among those is the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS), which announced in April that it would give this year’s vigil a miss because many of its members do not believe in the demand for a democratic China that vigil organizers normally make. The reasons are partly to do with identity — many local students considers themselves to be Hong Kong people first and foremost, linguistically and culturally distinct from mainland Chinese. But there are also tactical considerations: many within the HKFS, one of the organizations at the forefront of the [city’s pro-democracy movement](http://time.com/3453736/hong-kong-stands-up/) last year, believe that they must focus on their own struggle for the right to elect the leader of this freewheeling, sophisticated city of just over 7 million mostly well-educated inhabitants. “Trying to build a democratic China without having democracy in Hong Kong is utterly unrealistic,” Billy Fung, president of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union, [told](http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/rival-pro-democracy-rallies-planned-for-june-4-in-hong-kong/?smid=tw-share&%5Fr=0) the New York _Times_. The student union, which recently followed several other universities in breaking away from HKFS, will organize its own gathering at the university campus on Thursday to “discuss Hong Kong’s future as Hong Kong people.” Unlike the brutal crackdown in Tiananmen Square that saw hundreds if not thousands of nonviolent Chinese protesters killed by the army, the tens of thousands of Hong Kong students and activists who occupied the streets for nearly three months last year were [cleared peacefully](http://time.com/3633269/occupy-hong-kong-umbrella-revolution-causeway-bay/) in mid-December. The political reform they were campaigning for — the right to nominate and directly elect candidates for the city’s top job — remains elusive, however. The city’s present chief executive, as the leader is called, is Leung Chun-ying, who assumed office after winning just 689 votes from members of tightly vetted electoral college of mostly pro-Beijing and establishment figures. ### 79 Days That Shook Hong Kong  Pro-democracy demonstrators are sprayed with pepper spray during clashes with police officers during a rally near the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 28, 2014. Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty Images  A pro-democracy demonstrator gestures after police fired tear gas towards protesters near the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 28, 2014. Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty Images  Riot police use tear gas against protesters after thousands of people blocked a main road at the financial central district in Hong Kong, Sept. 28, 2014. AP  Policemen rest following pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong on Sept. 29, 2014. Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty Images  A protester raises his arms as police officers try to disperse the crowd near the government headquarters in Hong Kong, Sept. 29, 2014. Carlos Barria—Reuters  Protesters gather in the streets outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on Sept. 29, 2014 in Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty Images  Pro-democracy demonstrators hold up their mobile phones during a protest near the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 29, 2014. Dale de la Rey—AFP/Getty Images  A protester sleeps on the streets outside the Hong Kong Government Complex at sunrise on Sept. 30, 2014 in Hong Kong. Paula Bronstein—Getty Images  Protesters take part in a rally on a street outside of Hong Kong Government Complex on Sept. 30, 2014 in Hong Kong. Anthony Kwan—Getty Images  Joshua Wong, leader of the student movement, delivers a speech as protesters block the main street to the financial Central district, outside the government headquarters building in Hong Kong Oct. 1, 2014. Carlos Barria—Reuters  Protesters react as Joshua Wong (not pictured), leader of the student movement, speaks to the crowd outside the government headquarters building in Hong Kong, Oct. 1, 2014. Carlos Barria—Reuters  A protester holding an umbrella stands on the street close to the Hong Kong Government Complex on Oct. 1, 2014 in Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty Images  A local resident breaks through police lines and attempts to reach the pro-democracy tent on Oct. 3, 2014 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty Images  Policemen try to get a man to let go of a fence guarded by pro-democracy demonstrators in an occupied area of Hong Kong on Oct. 3, 2014. Philippe Lopez—AFP/Getty Images  A pro-democracy protester sleeps on a concrete road divider on a street outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on Oct. 5, 2014 in Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty Images  The statue "Umbrella Man" by the Hong Kong artist known as Milk, is set up at a pro-democracy protest site next to the central government offices in Hong Kong on Oct. 5, 2014. Alex Ogle—AFP/Getty Images  A pro-democracy protester uses bamboo to strengthen a barricade blocking a major road in Hong Kong on Oct. 13, 2014. Alex Ogle—AFP/Getty Images  Demonstrators walk past notes hanging on a wall outside the Central Government Offices in the Admiralty business district in Hong Kong on Oct. 17, 2014. Brent Lewin—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Tents set up by pro-democracy protesters are seen in an occupied area outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong's Admiralty district, Nov. 12, 2014. Vincent Yu—AP  A young Hong Kong couple who did not give their names wear gas masks as they pose for a wedding photographer prior to their marriage next to the tents used by pro-deocracy demonstrators at the Admiralty protest site on Nov. 14, 2014 in Hong Kong. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  Police face pro-democracy protesters on Nov. 19, 2014 outside the central government offices in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong. Alex Ogle—AFP/Getty Images  Pro-democracy activists join arms as they face off with police outside the Legislative Council building on Nov. 19, 2014 in Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty Images  Police officers disperse pro-democracy protesters outside the Legislative Council building after clashes with pro-democracy activists on Nov. 19, 2014 in Hong Kong. Lam Yik Fei—Getty Images  Pro-democracy protesters climb up a wall as police officers disperse them outside the Legislative Council building after clashes with pro-democracy activists on Nov. 19, 2014 in Hong Kong. Lam Yik Fei—Getty Images  Pro-democracy activists sleep outside the Legislative Council building after protesters clashed with police on Nov. 19, 2014 in Hong Kong. Chris McGrath—Getty Images  Police arrest a pro-democracy protester on Lung Wo Road outside Hong Kong's Government complex on Nov. 30, 2014 in Hong Kong. Anthony Kwan—Getty Images  A young student studies in a makeshift classroom set up on a main road at a major pro-democracy protest site in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong on Dec. 1, 2014. Anthony Wallace—AFP/Getty Images  A demonstrator is taken away by policemen, at an area previously blocked by pro-democracy supporters, outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong, Dec. 11, 2014. Athit Perawongmetha—Reuters  Pro-democracy protesters remove signs placed up during the past two months of protests from the area around the protest camp but leave intact the notice "We are dreamers" in the Admiralty in Hong Kong on Dec. 11, 2014. Pedro Ugarte—AFP/Getty Images  Hong Kong police dismantle the remains of the pro-democracy protest camp in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong on Dec. 11, 2014. Pedro Ugarte—AFP/Getty Images “The students find it difficult to realize the slogan of the organizers — ‘To promote democracy movement in China,’” Ho Pui-yin, a professor of modern Chinese history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), tells TIME. “If they promote the democracy movement, they want to concentrate on Hong Kong.” Student groups are not the only ones boycotting the event in Victoria Park. Another vigil is being organized by a group called Civic Passion set to take place across the harbor on the Kowloon peninsula. This parallel event, which began in 2013, is part of a growing “localism” movement that calls for a more radical separation between Hong Kong and China. Another group, called Localism Power, [disrupted](http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news%5Fdetail.asp?pp%5Fcat=30&art%5Fid=157518&sid=44580059&con%5Ftype=1) the annual Tiananmen commemorative march on Sunday, the _Standard_ reported, with about 20 members of the group engaging in verbal altercations with the marchers. The organizers of the Victoria Park vigil, a collective of several civil-society groups called the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, are doing everything they can to stress that the schism between Hong Kong’s struggle for democracy and China’s is unnecessary. “They are not against each other, we should be working together,” said Mak Hoi-wah, vice chairman of the alliance, speaking to TIME Wednesday night while supervising the setup for the event at Victoria Park. Nearby, a group of volunteers unfurled a large banner depicting a candle in the shape of a yellow umbrella — the symbol of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests last year. “The young people want immediate solutions to problems because they’re frustrated and angry, they resent the government’s measures in Hong Kong as well as China,” Mak said, adding that these feelings could be what have now prompted them to shun the peaceful and symbolic gathering at Victoria Park. “But we do think that is very important because more than 150,000 people are coming to Victoria Park every year. We stand firm together to show our solidarity and to hold people accountable, this is the way we show our muscle and show our power.” For Professor Ho of CUHK, the very thing that sets Hong Kong apart from China is what makes commemorating Tiananmen here so important. “It shows that ‘one country, two systems’ is still working, because this is the only city in China that can commemorate the June 4 incident,” she says, referring to the principle under which Hong Kong is allowed greater economic and social liberties despite being under the sovereignty of communist China. “The main difference is that we have freedom of speech, so this shows to the world that Hong Kong is different from the mainland.” ## Transcript [ NOISE ] My name is Jeff Weiner, I was the staff photographer with the associated press. I was called in to cover the 1989 students protest in Tiananmen square. I think Liu Hueng Shings says I can't fo because I'm Chinese. So that was up to me. And so, I had to go out and get the bicycle, and I was so scared And I had heard that the Beijing Hotel had security, and these security were going around and using electric cattle prods on journalists, to give up their film and, and all the equipment. So, I was concerned about this and I had hidden my cameras as best I could, in the shadows of the lobby I saw this tall western college kid and I walked up to him and I just said hey Joe, where you been? I've been looking for you. And I whispered, I'm from AP can you let me up to your room? He says yeah, come on. This was Kirk Martsen. Kirk Martsen played a major role in the Tank Man photo so when I got back up to the room, I basically just collapsed on the bed, I was exhausted, I was hurting. And what made me totally unsettle was the fact there was a bullet hole right behind me on the wall. So I knew that I was easy pickens for anybody who wanted to get me. Then a little while later I heard this noise of tanks coming down the street and I went out to the balcony and I see the column of tanks coming towards me. And I'm thinking well this is a nice compressed shot of the tanks and, you know, it wasn't fantastic, but it was compressed. And, and all of a sudden, this guy with shopping bags walks out in front. And I'm looking at it, and I get annoyed, and I look at Kirk, and I say this guy's gonna **** up my composition. And he goes they're gonna kill that guy, they're gonna kill him. And I looked and I said this guy's crazy. And so you hear gunfire going on everywhere, and the guy doesn't flinch. He just, he just stays there. Not only pop shots from the AK47's, but there is automatic from a large caliber you could hear, and he still didn't move. So, I, I, I, it's just unbelievable how much courage he had to just fight his course there. It's just, gives shivers. And I get shivers just looking at this video. It's very emotional for me. [ NOISE ]. And I aimed my 400 mm lens at him and I waited for, I waited for the moment he would get shot. And I waited, and I waited. I thought I could see him yelling or saying something, but I wasn't really sure and then I looked back at the bed where the teleconverter was and I thought to myself. This is too far away. This picture's too far away. And a long, should I go back and put the doubler on? Should I stay with, get what I have and it was again, a huge gamble and I've always gambled. So I went back to the bed. And I got it. Now while why I was gone to the bed, this guy had gone up on top of the tanks, and he was doing this thing up there. And then he came back down again. So when I finally got to the balcony, I'm leaning over, and there's a, I think there was a wall partition coming out or something, because I remember I had to lean over the balcony to photograph him. I took one, two, three shots and then I noticed that the needle on the meter was down between thirtieth and sixtieth of a second. And so I remember collapsing on this chair next to the window and I'm just looking at the carpeting and Kirk says, did you get it, did you get it? You could say it's David and Goliath but I think it goes beyond David and Goliath, it's just it's this, it's un, it's unbelievable. I mean, here's this guy who is obviously just out shopping and finally he just had enough. And he goes out in the street with these oncoming tanks and if he's any, if he's halfway normal, I, I assume he's gonna, he thinks he's gonna die. But he doesn't care. He just doesn't care because, for whatever reason. Either he's lost a loved one or he's just had it with the government for whatever it is. His statement is more important than his own life. And he walks out there and he stand there, and I think, and my picture is when he's coming off the tank and he's just making one last stance and he looks, he's got the Gandhi, pose. Passive, everybody connects to this that, you know, there isn't, all hope is not lost. That, you know, you can make a stance, you can, you know, you can be somebody. You know, there is some dignity and, and that, that you fight for your rights. [ NOISE ]. Where has the guy gone? I don't know. John. Pick up. 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