Taipei vigil draws thousands to mark Tiananmen anniversary

Taipei [Taiwan], June 5 : About 3,000 people gathered in Taipei on Tuesday evening to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, in one of the largest public memorials outside China for the victims of the brutal crackdown on student protesters in Beijing, Taipei Times reported.

Despite rain, participants held electronic candles and stood in solemn remembrance of the lives lost during the Chinese government's military action on June 4, 1989.

The main vigil, organised by the New School for Democracy and a coalition of human rights groups, began at 7 pm on Democracy Boulevard outside Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. This year's theme, "Resist Transnational Repression, Defy Totalitarianism," underscored a broader message of solidarity with ongoing human rights struggles under authoritarian regimes. By 8 pm, organisers estimated that roughly 3,000 people had joined the event. The vigil featured short speeches from human rights advocates hailing from Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, and other parts of the world.

At 8:30pm, the crowd observed 64 seconds of silence to mourn the victims of the massacre - a symbolic gesture echoing the date of the tragedy. Among the attendees were many Hong Kongers now residing in Taiwan, reflecting the vigil's increasingly international character and its resonance with communities that have experienced political repression.

One of the most powerful testimonies came from Wu Renhua, a Chinese academic and survivor of the 1989 crackdown. Recalling the moment he saw five crushed bodies outside the China University of Political Science and Law, Wu said he knelt and wept. "Never forget," he told the audience, recounting the scene that remains etched in his memory, reported Taipei Times.

Having attended the Taipei vigil annually since 2018, Wu addressed a recurring question he receives from locals: why people in Taiwan should care about an event that occurred in Beijing. His answer: "Human rights have no borders." Wu said Taiwan's own journey toward democracy gives it both the perspective and responsibility to honour the victims of Tiananmen and to confront the continued brutality of the Chinese Communist Party's authoritarian rule.

For 24-year-old student Lin Chan-wei, attending the vigil for the first time was a deeply emotional experience. He told reporters that seeing images of the massacre - of tanks and soldiers turning on civilians - always fills him with grief. Lin remarked that China once had a chance to democratise, perhaps even faster than Taiwan, but that hope was crushed in a series of violent suppressions that have since silenced civil society. "What is regrettable about the democratic movement in China is that it seems to have collapsed just before the break of dawn," he said.

Lin added that Taiwan's commemoration of June 4 serves as a message of solidarity - one that supports the few, but persistent, voices for human rights across the Taiwan Strait.

Hong Kong native Ivan Choi, 26, served as a volunteer at the event. Now living in Taiwan after self-exiling in 2019 following his participation in mass protests back home, Choi said the vigil holds special meaning for him. He used to attend annual commemorations in Hong Kong's Victoria Park, which often drew tens of thousands of people. Those gatherings were effectively banned in 2020 following the imposition of the national security law, ending a long-standing tradition of public mourning for Tiananmen victims.

Choi said being a frontline protester made the images of the massacre hit harder. "I just keep asking myself - how could they be so cruel?" he said. As for Taiwan's role, Choi said he appreciates the country for not only keeping the memory alive but also for framing the incident in a way that confronts the broader reality of Chinese state repression, Taipei Times reported.

In addition to the main gathering near Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a smaller candlelight vigil was held by Hong Kongers in Taipei at 228 Peace Memorial Park, attended by around 100 people.

The commemorations in Taipei not only honoured the memory of the Tiananmen victims but also reinforced Taiwan's democratic identity and its commitment to standing with those still fighting for basic freedoms across the region.

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