WASHINGTON—The air was still as candlelight flickered, forming a circle around a replica of the goddess of democracy that 37 years ago stood on Tiananmen Square.
Around the statue scattered pink hyacinth flowers and white lilies. On the granite pedestal, more candle flames swayed.
“To those who love liberty,” the inscription reads in part.
The vigil, hosted on the evening of June 4 by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, honored pro-democracy protesters killed in Tiananmen Square for calling for greater political freedoms in communist China.
Thirty-seven years ago that day, thousands of people are estimated to have died under tanks and gunfire. The massacre remains a heavily censored topic in mainland China. Police nationwide step up surveillance and arrests around the anniversary each year….