The anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre looms and while vigils are outlawed in Hong Kong, those with Chinese roots who live abroad are determined to not let the atrocities committed in 1989 by the Chinese Communist Party be forgotten.
Hong Kong used to hold the largest vigils to mark the anniversary but in recent years vigils were shut down due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
They continued to be banned in the years following, with many activists believing they will be forever, to suppress the Chinese-ruled region from marking the occasion.
In 2021, Hong Kong authorities removed monuments dedicated to the protests, including a sculpture called the "Pillar of Shame".
The monument depicted bodies piled atop one other as a reminder of those killed during the final days of the uprising.
Earlier this year, Hong Kong officials jailed three organisers of a now-defunct pro-democracy group that had arranged vigils each June commemorating the 1989 unrest.
They were convicted of failing to comply with requests by national security police to provide certain information.
In New York City, a group of Tiananmen survivors are determined to keep the memory of the atrocities alive.
'Beaten and bloodied'
Fangsuo Zhou remembers all too well the spring day in 1989 when hundreds and possibly thousands of Chinese students and others protesting in Tiananmen Square lost their lives.
Over seven weeks, pro-democracy students converged at Beijing's Tiananmen Square to protest corruption and push for a fairer and more open society.
This weekend will mark 34 years since communist troops violently swarmed in to end the protest, leaving many beaten and bloodied.
Mr Zhou, now in his 50s, has left China but in the years since has collected what he calls "evidence" of China's brutality.
Alongside other Chinese-born Americans, he's determined to mark the occasion with a memorial in New York City.
Meanwhile, across the world, Chinese authorities are cracking down on local commemorations.
Blooded towels, blood-soaked banners that had been turned into tourniquets, newspaper clippings and a tent used by student protesters during the demonstration are now the centrepiece of the "June 4 Memorial Exhibit".
"This is the most important legacy for China," Mr Zhou said during a preview of the collection.
Mr Zhou said that day should never be forgotten, even as the Chinese government has sought to erase reminders of what happened at Tiananmen Square.
"We are keeping the unchangeable evidence for what the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] has done," he said.
Since the uprising, monuments, memorials and statues were erected so Tiananmen would be remembered, particularly in Hong Kong.
Dan Wang founded the June 4 Massacre Memorial Association and was also among student protesters that day.
"They want to make everybody forget that they are regime built on violence and lies," he said.
'We have obligation and responsibility to establish this memorial exhibition."
"To uphold the truth of history and to counter the CCP's attempt to erase historical memory."
Exhibit organisers decided to house the collection of memorabilia in Midtown Manhattan — rather than Chinatown — to make the history more accessible to the broader population.
ABC/AP
