The lies are all aligned now. For 37 years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tried to erase the truth of what happened on 4 June 1989. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of peaceful protesters were massacred by the military in Tiananmen Square. Since then, the CCP has censored what happened and silenced those who refuse to forget.

Hong Kong used to be different. For more than three decades, we gathered peacefully every year in Victoria Park. We lit candles, remembered those who died and called for accountability. It was one of the freedoms that separated Hong Kong from mainland China.

That freedom is now gone. On 21 August, the former leaders of Hong Kong Alliance (a now disbanded pro-democracy group) – 41-year-old Chow Hang-tung and 69-year-old Lee Cheuk-yan – were found guilty of incitement to subversion. They had been arrested in 2021 and detained without trial until last month. Their crime was not violent. Their crime, as part of the Hong Kong Alliance, was to stage an annual vigil to mark the Tiananmen Massacre. They spoke about what happened. They advocated for democracy and an end to one-party dictatorship in China.

A vigil that was legal for decades is now a crime under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, which was introduced in 2020. That tells us how far Hong Kong has fallen.

The government continues to claim that Hong Kong has the rule of law, an independent judiciary and protected freedoms. But freedom of speech means very little if you are free to speak only when the government agrees with you. Freedom of assembly means very little if a peaceful gathering becomes criminal because its message makes those in power uncomfortable.

The verdict handed down to Chow and Lee was sadly predictable. In early August, Hong Kong secretary for security Chris Tang issued a dire warning to anyone thinking of staging protests or engaging in dissent of any kind: ‘Regardless of the name or guise you adopt, if you seek to endanger national security, collude with foreign forces or subvert state power, I can assure you that I will nail you, and you will bear the consequences.’

When the person responsible for security can speak in such terms, journalists and activists understand the message. Speak up and you may become a target.

In Hong Kong today, sometimes seeking the truth is enough to incur the wrath of the authorities. A journalist investigating wrongdoing can become an enemy. An activist demanding accountability can become a national-security threat. A publisher criticising the government can spend years behind bars. Now, remembering history can become evidence of subversion.

For me, Lee Cheuk-yan is not simply another name in the news. I had the honour of interviewing him shortly before he entered court in April 2021, when he was facing trial over his involvement in an unauthorised assembly. He told me: ‘If we walk together for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong, we will prevail.’

I have never forgotten that conversation. As a journalist, I watched activists enter courtrooms. I reported their cases. And I watched as the space for journalists, civil society and political opposition became smaller and smaller. This is how freedom disappears. Not always in one dramatic moment, but piece by piece.

Protests are banned. Newspapers have been closed. Activists are imprisoned. A vigil disappears. People learn which words are dangerous. Eventually, they learn to remain silent.

For decades, Hong Kong was one of the few places on Chinese soil where people could publicly remember the Tiananmen Massacre. Today, the vigil is gone and those who kept its memory alive are behind bars.

But history has not changed. The massacre happened. People died. Their families lost their loved ones. A government can ban a vigil. It can censor the internet and imprison those who refuse to forget. But it cannot change what happened.

I will remember Lee Cheuk-yan standing outside that courtroom and the words he said to me. His bravery, his belief in democracy and his sacrifice for Hong Kong’s freedom will not be forgotten.

And neither will the people who died on 4 June 1989. We remember because it happened. And we remember because they want us to forget.

Chloe Lo is a former Bloomberg reporter who covered prominent court proceedings tied to the Hong Kong unrest and the National Security Law. Follow her on X: @ChloecLoNews