Taipei: Fu Tong and his wife Elaine To were among the first group of demonstrators in Hong Kong to be charged with rioting in 2020, following the widespread pro-democracy and anti-China protests that erupted in the former British colony in 2019.
Now living in exile in Taiwan, Fu has continued his activism with renewed focus. As the 35th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre approaches, he is working to ensure the memory of Beijing’s violent crackdown is not erased.
From Taipei, Fu has co-hosted a Hong Kong human rights exhibition, curating artwork from the protest movement, and regularly leads guided tours of the displays. His mission: to ensure the legacy of resistance lives on—even if it has been silenced in his hometown.
“When Hong Kong can no longer hold the June 4 vigils, and can no longer even mention it, Taiwan’s existence becomes very important,” Fu, 43, told Reuters in Taipei.
“It’s one of the very few places in Asia, where people can openly commemorate the accident on June 4, discuss it, and even condemn the Chinese Communist Party. The existence of such a space is already hugely significant,” he added.
Taiwan remains the only Chinese-speaking region where public commemoration of the Tiananmen crackdown is still permitted. Elsewhere, Chinese communities in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia are expected to hold memorials.
In stark contrast, Hong Kong—once the main hub for annual candlelight vigils—has seen those gatherings banned under the sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing. Once attended by tens of thousands, the events are now criminalized, and any mention of June 4 is tightly censored.
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Yet Fu remains undeterred.
“I really feel like I’ve been chosen to be in this era. If I don’t step up to do things that seem foolish and unrewarding, then who will? As long as I can, I’m willing to keep going,” he said.
On June 4, 1989, Chinese tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square in the early hours of the morning, brutally ending weeks of peaceful pro-democracy protests led by students and workers. While the Chinese government has never published an official death toll, rights groups and witnesses estimate that the number of victims may reach into the thousands.
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Within mainland China, any public discussion of the events is strictly forbidden. Authorities continue to characterize the protests as a “counter-revolutionary riot” and blame the unrest on forces trying to destabilize the Communist Party’s rule.
Despite the pressure and risk, exiled voices like Fu Tong are keeping the memory of June 4 alive—offering a space for reflection and dissent in a region where silence has been mandated.
