On June 3-4, 1989, over 200,000 army soldiers armed with assault rifles and tanks, entered Beijing to crush a nationwide pro-democracy movement. The student-led peaceful demonstrations ended with the People’s Liberation Army firing on unarmed civilians. The death toll remains unknown even today. The Tiananmen Mothers are still not allowed to openly mourn their children; exiles cannot return home for parents’ funerals.

For three decades, Hong Kong’s Victoria Park stood as the only place on Chinese soil where commemoration was possible. Now under Beijing’s National Security Law, vigil organizers are being tried and awaiting sentencing. Join Rowena He in conversation with Larry Diamond to explore the collective efforts to keep this forbidden history alive, and what their struggle reveals about memory, truth, and resistance against authoritarian erasure.

The event will follow with a reception and candlelight vigil. 

No photography, audio recording, or video recording of audience members will be permitted during the event.