Hong Kong people commemorate June 4 because we care about the future of China. This is why we will continue to show up in good numbers next year, the year after that, and for a long time. For those of us who were old enough in 1989 to know what happened, it was a moment of political awakening.
June 4 was about us, too. Our grandparents had dreams about a modern China, our parents had dreams about a new China after the founding of the People's Republic, and we had hopes about a liberalising China.
What happened in 1989 encapsulated both our hopes and fears. It could have been a turning point, where the government embarked on a new footing with the people to be more open. As witnesses of history, that did not happen. Tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square and blood flowed. A precious moment was lost. It was our loss, too.
Hong Kong people saw the moment of hope before it slipped away. That was a moment of such disappointment because we knew things could have been so different. The moment was lost. We too felt the loss. Hope became despondency as fear set in throughout China: the blood must be mopped up and the events erased from people's memory.
In this corner of the world, then still a British colony, we stood witness to what happened. The difference was that this Chinese community could speak openly about the events. We were particularly sensitised to everything because, in less than a decade, Hong Kong would become part of China again. China was, and is, our future. From this small place, because of what we went through as a community, we gained a new political consciousness within that one year.
That is why Hong Kong people have not stopped talking about 'democracy'. The d-word is really about our aspirations for a new political culture that is more liberal, where the people truly play a part in political life. We would like to see a less authoritarian model evolve in Chinese society. A more open political system provides a range of checks and balances not only for better governance on a day-to-day basis but also to prevent another June 4. Crackdowns are painful experiences that last a lifetime. We hope never to see that happen again. Indeed, Hong Kong people continue to call for an acknowledgement of what happened in 1989 and do not see the events as 'turmoil'.