Every year, when the Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary draws near, the Chinese government increases security in and around the square to prevent any commemoration of the event or even the placing of flowers.
But that has never deterred hundreds of thousands of Chinese who dream of democracy flourishing in their country from holding rallies and ceremonies to hail the martyrs of Tiananmen Square, year after year. This year, the 15th anniversary, was no different.
The movement for democracy is strongest in Hong Kong, which was a British colony in the last century and became part of China only in 1997, and where the Chinese Communist Party is keen to stifle any aspiration for democracy.