On the 37th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, HRF continues to remember the pro-democracy activists who laid down their lives to express their demands for a free and democratic China. Their stories have been erased from Chinese textbooks, websites, and the greater web in an attempt by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to absolve itself of its own crimes.

With the help of AI-powered censorship, the CCP is attempting to erase these images from search engine results. An analysis from the Firewall Internet Café, an art exhibition and image archive led by Joyce Yu-Jean Lee, reveals how search terms related to Tiananmen Square continue to be expunged from China’s internet.

Even in 2026, scores of prisoners of conscience, including Hong Kong lawyer Chow Hang-tung and Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, remain detained for commemorating the massacre. HRF stands in solidarity with those who remain firmly committed to carrying the torch of truth.