Hong Kong has done what the rest of China is forbidden to do, it has held a candlelight vigil to mark the 25th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Tens of thousands gathered in a central park,
their numbers swelled by a large number of mainland Chinese.

One Chinese dissident said it was his first time participating in a large-scale political event. “I hope one day in China citizens will truly have the freedom to demonstrate.”

In Beijing, there was no sign of any commemoration of the massacre expect for a police presence. Censors have wiped the internet of any mention of what was a rare display of open defiance against the Communist Party.

China has never released a death toll from when troops shot their way into the square to remove hundreds of protesting students, but estimates from human rights groups range from several hundred to several thousand.