Thousands of Hong Kong activists rallied with a "Goddess of Democracy" replica statue on Sunday. It's to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre—called the "June 4th Incident" in Chinese—where hundreds of pro-democracy students were killed.
Hong Kong Legislator Lee Cheuk-Yuen speaks about what the statue stands for.
[Lee Cheuk-Yuen, Hong Kong Legislator]:
"This is a symbol of defiance on the part of the Hong Kong people to demand the vindication of June 4 and democracy in China. It also has another meaning being that this year is the darkest age for Chinese human rights, and there are waves and waves of arrests and suppression of Chinese human rights defenders."
This year, the persecution of dissident artist Ai Weiwei and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo furthers concerns that the Chinese regime is going backwards on human rights.
Students, politicians, and unionists joined the rally to mourn the lives lost in 1989, and speak out against the Chinese regime.
One protestor says he's fortunate to be able to protest here—because his friends in mainland China cannot.
[James Hon, Protester]:
"Hong Kong up till now is the only Chinese territory that people can come out to the street and voice our protest and we are lucky to have this freedom."
But, even in Hong Kong, protests have not always gone smoothly. Last year, 13 protestors were arrested for putting up two similar statues, which were then confiscated by police.
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