In reconstructing how collective remembering of Tiananmen in Hong Kong was valorized, stabilized, and defended over a period of two decades, Chapter 2 adopted a linear conception of time. Although the process of collective memory formation and contestation was by no means straightforward, time flowed from the 1990s to the 2010s. However, communication, mobilization, and commemoration activities related to Tiananmen were also embedded in the cyclical temporal structure of the yearly calendar. Other than the occasional unexpected news stories related to the Tiananmen Incident, such as the publication of the Tiananmen Papersin January 2001 and the death of Zhao Ziyang in January 2005, other Tiananmen Incident-related news stories and activities typically appeared in the weeks before the June 4 vigil each year.

The June 4 candlelight vigil itself is undoubtedly one of the most important political rituals in Hong Kong. Following Kertzer (1986), ritual can be understood broadly as symbolic behavior that is socially standardized and repetitive. It carves out a sacred realm that is differentiated from mundane reality. It employs symbols that condense meanings and produce multivocality and ambiguity. It allows people to experience a sense of community and reconfirm their social identity (Abeles, 1988; Papadakis, 2003).

The repetitiveness or even redundancy of ritual is central to its capability of “channeling emotion, guiding cognition, and organizing social groups” (Kertzer, 1986: 9). In fact, the “program” of the June 4 vigil in Hong Kong has taken up its basic shape in the mid-1990s.