Monument to the People's Heroes
Tensions were high in 1996, which marked the seventh anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. Residents were not sure whether or not the annual demonstration would continue after the upcoming 1997 sovereignty handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Many Hong Kong natives feared they would lose the legal right to demonstrate after the handover, which made it so that the annual demonstration's fate was in potential jeopardy. One demonstrator, Yeung Sum, voiced his support for continued demonstrations as he shouted out "this kind of demonstration must be publicly held after 1997". According to the "Globe and Mail", more than 20,000 attended. In the park there was a cenotaph, which was a replica of Heroes' Monument (also known as the Monument to the People's Heroes) in Tiananmen Square, and near this monument stood a reproduction of the highly symbolic Goddess of Democracy. People in the park sang "Do you hear the people sing? / Singing the song of angry men? / It is the music of a people". Attendees "carried large funeral wreaths" to the base of the replicated Heroes' Monument. When the floodlights dimmed, people passed several minutes of silence by raising thousands of candles.