Dear Annie,

Great job on completing your DSE exams! I hope you are enjoying your well-deserved holiday before university begins. Oh, how time flies… I still remember my days as a young teen anticipating the start of my university life as a political science major. Like you, I have always been very passionate about politics. But with such a huge generation gap between us, there are bound to be things we don’t see eye to eye, like the June Fourth memorial events. With the anniversary for the June Fourth Incident in just a few days, I hope you can hear me out.

I understand. One cannot fight for what they don’t feel deeply passionate about. And I don’t blame you. You belong to a removed generation that didn’t witness the horror and tragedy through the television screen in 1989, a generation that didn’t bid their friends and families goodbye as they emigrated to escape the clutches of a cruel government, a generation that didn’t watch in shock as human rights on the Mainland crumbled to dust. It is difficult for you to stand with us in this fight for justice and democracy.

So here I am.

I am to tell you that June Fourth is not just a meaningless relic of a tragic past. June Fourth still affects each and every one of us to this day; its impact is far greater than any other factor in our relationship with Beijing — because they were afraid of June Fourth. And still are. And will continue to be.

The Central Government had once believed in a more democratic and open-minded option to Hong Kong’s political future. If that had been the final decision, Hong Kong would have had two general elections by now. And the bane of Hong Kongers, Article 23, would not have the added the crimes of treason, secession, sedition, and subversion against the Central Government. Nor would there be clear written words in black-and-white on the prohibition of local political bodies from establishing ties with foreign political bodies, and the prohibition of foreign political bodies from conducting political activities in Hong Kong.

What changed? The June Fourth Incident.

This tragedy struck fear into the hearts of those in power in Beijing. So they added these words to protect themselves, to prevent another June Fourth Incident from ever happening again. This is why it is still such an immense taboo. They are afraid of the power of the people united by a singular cause for the better of society.

Thus, we have to stand united in remembering the June Fourth Incident. In doing so, we are not only fighting for justice and democracy. We are also safeguarding truth and preserving this memory, because this is what any authoritarian government is so desperately afraid of. Annie, if we, too, forget this, those in power who want nothing but to wipe this incident from history will have won. Our apathy is their victory. We cannot let them win.

At this point, you’re probably thinking: Uncle Alvin is repeating himself again.

Yes. I am.

And I will continue repeating myself year after year after year, until we have attained justice for the students who have sacrificed themselves and their families who are still persecuted and silenced. Those students were not much older than you. Educated and filled with aspirations for a fair and just world, they stepped out of their comfortable lives for what they believed in. You are much more alike than you think despite the years that separate your time and theirs. Because no matter what those in power do, ideas don’t die.

And even though I repeat the same words every year, my repetition does not render my words meaningless; it does not render them empty slogans. The annual June Fourth Candlelight Vigil is not for show. It is proof that we still remember, still care, and are still relentless in our fight. This is our mark in history, bearing the weight of all our predecessors as we press on, with the same beliefs, for change and for the better. In the face of a government adamant in smothering our spirit, our fiery passion is what shall burn bright and fierce, it is what strikes fear into their hearts. Because what they wish for us to forget is precisely what we cannot afford to forget. Not now, not ever.

Don’t forget. Under this five-starred flag, we are the only ones who can publicly organize remembrance events for the June Fourth Massacre. Where others are silenced, we can demand for truth and plead for justice. June Fourth does not belong to a single generation. It belongs to every generation and every person that believes in truth and justice.

We are the last ones standing: unconstrained, uncensored, unafraid.

I know what I am going to do to fight for my beliefs. What about you?

Alvin Yeung