This time 19 years ago, Hong Kong was gripped by growing anxiety about events unfolding in Beijing, after students there mourned the death of Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang in the spring of 1989.
As calls by the students for an open, free and democratic China went unheeded, Hongkongers, driven by patriotism and hope for progress in their motherland, took to the streets en masse.
Traditional pro-Beijing leaders such as Tam Yiu-chung, now of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, stood shoulder to shoulder with pro-democracy activists such as Szeto Wah at a rally to condemn the Beijing authorities' handling of the protests.
When tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square early on June 4, Hongkongers were shocked and awed. Those feelings quickly gave way to disillusion, despair and a sense of loss as their patriotic fervour was chilled by the harsh reality of the day's tragic events and those that followed.
The scene in Hong Kong was vastly different on Friday as more than 100,000 people, many dressed in red, waved national flags to cheer the runners of the Olympic torch relay and to show a sense of nationhood.
Teachers took their students to watch. Others watched live television broadcasts of the relay at their desks, getting a real-life lesson in Chinese history.
The Olympic flame has fuelled patriotism - and nationalism - in Hong Kong. With media coverage of the nationwide relay and the lead-up to the Olympic Games increasing, a wave of nationalism is set to engulf the city.
