Hong Kong ? Angered by China’s hard line against democracy in Hong Kong, tens of thousands of people waved candles, sang and chanted Friday to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.

Vowing to fight on for universal suffrage in China and Hong Kong, the massive crowd bowed three times — a Chinese funeral tradition — in the direction of a monument dedicated to those killed in the June 4, 1989, military assault. “Democracy’s heroes stand forever,” it read.

“May your spirits be with us as we continue the fight,” opposition lawmaker Szeto Wah said.

People young and old sang and chanted at the annual commemoration that was highly charged this year after Beijing told Hong Kong citizens in April they cannot directly elect their next leader in 2007 or all lawmakers in 2008.

Boisterous Hong Kong

Organizers claimed a turnout of 82,000, but police said the crowd had peaked at 48,000.

With its free speech rights, Hong Kong is the only place in China where such demonstrations are held. But many in Hong Kong say they are locked in the same struggle as the student activists who died in Beijing 15 years ago.

“Hong Kong should be democratic,” said university student Rocker Tsui. “Hong Kong people should be ruling Hong Kong ourselves.”

The 1989 crackdown gave Hong Kong a political awakening, and its memories still resonate. Locals were stunned and outraged to see their motherland turn troops on unarmed students. Hundreds if not thousands of people were killed, and 1 million people spontaneously took to the streets of Hong Kong in protest.

Quiet Beijing

A protester waves a Taiwanese flag during a candlelight vigil attended by tens of thousands in Hong Kong's Victoria Park, marking the 15th anniversary of the crackdown by the Chinese government on pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Ever since Beijing sent tanks and troops to crush the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement, Hong Kong residents have led a candlelight vigil on the anniversary. Thousands of protesters demanded that China admit mistakes in its bloody crackdown on the nonviolent student protesters that killed hundreds if not thousands.

In Beijing on Friday, police kept tight control over Tiananmen Square, detaining at least 16 people to ensure there was no public expression of dissent.

Extra guards were deployed around the square, and an Associated Press photographer was briefly stopped after taking pictures of detentions. Chinese tourists were forced to delete photos from their digital cameras.

Bitter memories linger in Hong Kong, along with admiration for the slain students.

“The people’s republic should be for the people, not for killing the people,” said a woman who identified herself only by the surname Pau. The commemoration always attracts tens of thousands of people in Victoria Park — a legacy of the colonial past complete with a seated statue of Queen Victoria.

Many demonstrators criticized Hong Kong’s highly unpopular leader, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, who took control when the British left and is seen by many here as a puppet of Beijing.

“He doesn’t know how to deal with political problems or the economy — I wish we had a choice,” said teacher Pat Sy. “Democracy is good for people. It’s more important than the economy.”

Many in Hong Kong feel a duty to speak out for Chinese democracy because they enjoy free speech rights — unheard of in the authoritarian mainland — under a government arrangement dubbed “one country, two systems” put in place at the handover.

“We have to tell Beijing what we want to say,” said 68-year-old retiree Kwun Ken. “If they don’t like to hear it, we have to say it again. It’s a basic human right.”

The bodies of dead civilians lie among mangled bicycles near Beijing's Tiananmen Square in this June 4, 1989, file photo. Friday marked the 15th anniversary of the military assault on pro-democracy protesters who had occupied the square for seven weeks.