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Richard Lee is a former MLA and founding member of the society. As an elected official, he says he promoted trade with China because he thought it would promote the expansion of civil rights.

“This way, people in China might understand issues here more,” he said.

He still pays the price for his stance against the government. He says he was denied entrance to his home country several years ago and was told by border officials “you know what you did.”

Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG

Lee says some colleagues told him Chinese Consul General Tong Xiaoling refuses to attend events where he is present. The consulate did not respond to a request for comment.

The detainment of Spavor and Kovrig along with the continuing internment of the Uighurs, a persecuted Muslim minority in China’s Xinjiang province, leaves him little hope for democratic reform in China.

“How can you claim to be ruled by law and then you’re not allowing someone being accused to see a lawyer to defend themselves?” he asked.

Despite the setbacks overseas — and perhaps because of them — Tung says commemorating the massacre is more important than ever.

“When you forget the piece of history, nothing will happen,” she said. “We have to remember this to pass it along to the next generation and the people around you and make sure it carries on. Once history is there, justice will be served.”

The Goddess of Democracy itself is a reminder of how the memory of the massacre has persisted in the face of interference.

When the statue was proposed the Chinese consulate originally penned letters to then-UBC President David Strangway demanding it not be allowed on campus and threatening to cancel programs between the school and China if the project continued.

“This has survived in spite of the fact,” said Lary. “It’s come down to younger people even though China has done as much as it possibly can to not allow anybody to remember it.”