On the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, Hong Kong people in Germany, together with the Hong Kong Association in Germany (HKDE e.V.) and the International Society for Human Rights in Germany (IGFM), organized a commemoration event. Starting at 8 p.m. on June 4, 2025, candlelight vigils were simultaneously held in five major cities in Germany, including Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich.
Chairwoman Aniessa Andresen of the Hongkonger in Deutschland e.V. informed Epoch Times that the reason for holding this event was that since the implementation of the National Security Law in 2020, the annual commemorative events for the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre held at Victoria Park in Hong Kong could no longer take place. Through this event, they aimed to raise awareness in Germany and the international community about the events of June 4, warning against the challenges the Chinese Communist Party poses to global democratic systems.
Andresen stated that since the Tiananmen Square massacre, every June 4th, regardless of wind and rain, Hongkongers have lit candles at Victoria Park to commemorate the victims of the massacre and seek justice for them. Over the past thirty years, the Chinese Communist regime has made every effort to erase this part of history, cracking down on the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China and other pro-democracy groups. Despite this, Hong Kong people continue to mourn the events of June 4 at Victoria Park without fear.
In 2020, with the implementation of the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law, anyone attempting to commemorate June 4 has been labeled as violating the National Security Law. The commemorative activities that have continued for thirty years in their homeland can no longer be held. Textbooks in Hong Kong concerning political, historical, and relations between mainland China and Hong Kong have been modified, with all textbooks in Hong Kong reducing the coverage of the “June 4 Incident,” removing images of tanks, downplaying human rights issues in China, and civil rights incidents. Hong Kong people can no longer pass on our memories at Victoria Park to warn the next generation of how terrifying the Chinese Communist regime is.
According to Andresen, holding commemorative events is the responsibility of overseas Hong Kongers. It is not only to protect the truth, preserve history, and prevent forgetting but also to allow those who have never experienced or even heard of the June 4 incident to understand this terrifying and heartbreaking history.
Andresen hopes that through this event, attention will be brought to the events of June 4 by Germany and the international community, highlighting the “Cold War” between the capitalist and communist camps that is being replayed worldwide, with Hong Kong as the forefront of this “Cold War.” They aim to make more people understand the cruelty and danger of the Chinese Communist dictatorship and show the world that Hong Kong people have not abandoned their belief in freedom. Simultaneously, they hope that such activities can unite overseas Hong Kong people, continuing the spirit and memory of June 4.
He expects the German government to acknowledge the facts: “How the Chinese Communist Party treated its own people in the past and how it now suppresses dissent, censors speech, and distorts facts with authoritarian means. The Chinese Communist government lacks integrity and should be scrutinized in its dealings.”
At the same time, he hopes the German government will continue to monitor and publicly criticize the human rights situation in Hong Kong and China, and push for sanctions and accountability mechanisms in the European Union and the international arena, as well as sever ties with all sister cities of China.
Andresen stressed: “We do not need empty sympathy, but solid action.”
Andresen believes that the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party not only harms its own people but also poses a challenge to global democratic systems. Through economic infiltration, technological surveillance, technology theft, suppression of speech, and information manipulation, it attempts to subvert global values and order and replace them with its own model. Academic institutions, businesses, and media in many countries first face infiltration and invasion by the Chinese Communist Party, followed by direct pressure and intervention.
He further explained that the Chinese Communist Party uses its massive market as a diplomatic lever to exert pressure on foreign companies and governments, forcing them to comply with its political positions. For example, it demands that foreign companies cooperate with its “One China” policy on issues related to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, and others. Through state-owned media, social platforms, online armies, and disinformation campaigns, the Chinese Communist Party is trying to rewrite global opinion, downplay its human rights issues, shape a positive image of China, and interfere in the domestic elections of other countries.
“The Chinese Communist Party is using its economy as a political weapon, posing a threat not only to the Chinese people but to become a global issue of democracy, human rights, and security,” he said.
Finally, Andresen stated, “In Hong Kong, we are no longer able to openly mourn. But here, we can light candles to safeguard the memory of those we ‘do not want to remember but dare not forget.'”