Graffiti has been removed off a fence in Hong Kong's financial district, the site of many 2019 protests, Hong Kong, China, April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Documentary filmmaker Kiwi Chow, 42, poses for a photograph at Kwun Tong Ferry Pier near his studio in Hong Kong, China, June 18, 2021. Clearing the Lennon Walls was the beginning of "beautiful things" being destroyed, Chow said. "Of course, we feel angry when beautiful things are gone; it's important, and we need to remember. But the anger can also transfer into perseverance," he added. After all, during the protests, the Lennon wall in his tunnel was dismantled many times, but people rebuilt it. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Graffiti is seen on a wall in Kwun Tong in Hong Kong, China, May 6, 2021. The graffiti reads: "See you on Hong Kong Island on October 1". REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Pedestrians ride an escalator at Yuen Long metro station in Hong Kong, China, April 28, 2021. The floor used to be covered by protest posters. On July 21, 2019 a mob of more than 100 men wearing white T-shirts attacked pro-democracy protesters, reporters and bystanders with poles and sticks at the Yuen Long train station. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Posters hang on a wall outside a room for the Chinese University Student Press' room at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in Hong Kong, China, May 8, 2021. In 2019, students clashed with riot police in the CUHK campus. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Chinese and Hong Kong flags are hung at the Legislative Council surrounded with construction boarding in Hong Kong, China, April 23, 2021. Protesters stormed the legislature on July 1, 2019, the anniversary of the former British colony's return to China and spray-painted slurs against police and the government on the walls. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Jade Chung, 24, a freelance journalist whose work focuses on human rights and pro-democracy activists, poses for a photograph in front of a wall covered with ads at Kwun Tong in Hong Kong, China, May 6, 2021. "If Hong Kong is a person, the ground is the skin. It's like they are doing a laser surgery," said Chung. Beyond the physical changes, she said that after the government started to crack down, many things became hard to say out loud. That has led to secret codes of resistance against authoritarian rule, she said. Chung wants to unlock a version of events that won't be told in history lessons and is fading from public discourse. "We do not want to remember, yet do not dare to forget. People do many things on the side to protect our collective memory," said Chung. "We did not forget. We may be waiting for a chance to do something." REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Grounds of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is seen in Hong Kong, China, May 8, 2021. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Filmmaker Herbert Chow, 57, the owner of the shop Chickeeduck, poses for a photograph near his office in Hong Kong, China, June 18, 2021. Chow said he wants his shop to become a place of hope. "We want to tell people that we still have free space," he said. "It's because we see that they might change history." Chow said his children are literal reminders of Hong Kong's history: His son was born in 2014, the year when protesters of the "Umbrella movement" occupied the main arteries of the financial district for 79 days; his daughter was born in 2019. "The regime wants us to forget. I hope to use my camera to remember," he said. "We are resisting in our memories. We are resisting forgetfulness." REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A site of the pro-democracy protests in Tsuen Wan is seen in Hong Kong, China, May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Empty flagpoles stand in a tourist spot in Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, China, April 27, 2021. A Chinese flag was removed by the pro-democracy protesters in 2019. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A pedestrian walks under mesh wire covering a footbridge in Hong Kong, China, April 23, 2021. The bridge was covered in mesh wire after the pro-democracy protests in 2019. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Pedestrians walk past a painted wall with mesh wires outside Mong Kok Police Station in Hong Kong, China, April 27, 2021. Mong Kok was a popular protest area for democracy activists in 2019. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A traffic light covered with mesh wires stands in Mong Kok in Hong Kong, China, April 28, 2021. Mong Kok was a popular protest area for democracy activists in 2019. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Plastic boards surround the outside area of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, China, April 27, 2021. The university was the site of some of the most violent clashes between students and police in 2019. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Ken Woo, 24, the acting president of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University student union, poses for a photograph outside a room for the student union on the campus in Hong Kong, China, May 10, 2021. "That period was traumatic for everyone in Hong Kong, physically or mentally," Woo said. "You think you didn't do well enough at that time or you blame yourself... If the world doesn’t change, the scars and pain will always be there." The university was the site of some of the most violent clashes between students and police in 2019. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Jacky Chan, 29, a Wong Tai Sin district councillor, poses for a photograph outside his office in Hong Kong, China, 18 May, 2021. "For those who stay or can't leave, I want them to know we are still here. This office shows them the pro-democracy camp still exists ," Chan said. "What happened in 2019 is very important, something we need to keep remembering..." REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. REFILE - CORRECTING AGE OF DISTRICT COUNCILLOR 

Kayla Chan, 25, poses for a photograph at Victoria Park, in Hong Kong, China, May 4, 2021. "As a permanent resident of Hong Kong, I suppose I have the right to walk on the streets freely. When you put water barriers and the road is not under construction, I have to avoid it without a reasonable explanation of what's going on. If I touch the water barrier, will I be stopped and searched? When I see them, I feel highly alert and I feel like it is a high-risk place. The water barriers are an extension of the oppression of critical voices by the state apparatus. Although social movements are dead in Hong Kong now, the water barriers and the mesh wires are still here to remind us of what happened and the unresolved problems." REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

CCTV cameras are seen at Yuen Long in Hong Kong, China, June 7, 2021. On July 21, 2019 a mob of more than 100 men wearing white T-shirts attacked pro-democracy protesters, reporters and bystanders with poles and sticks at the Yuen Long train station. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Pedestrians leave an elevator near walls that have been scrubbed off of protest slogans and posters at Yuen Long metro station in Hong Kong, China, April 28, 2021. On July 21, 2019 a mob of more than 100 men wearing white T-shirts attacked pro-democracy protesters, reporters and bystanders with poles and sticks at the Yuen Long train station. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Pedestrians walk past mesh wire covering the footbridge at Yuen Long in Hong Kong, China, April 28, 2021. On July 21, 2019 a mob of more than 100 men wearing white T-shirts attacked pro-democracy protesters, reporters and bystanders with poles and sticks at the Yuen Long train station. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A pedestrian walks past mesh wiring covering the footbridge near the Police Headquarters in Hong Kong, China, April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A person stands in front of a wall where graffiti has been removed from in Central District in Hong Kong, China, April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Plasterboards surround ATM machines at Shanghai Commercial Bank in Hong Kong, China, April 28, 2021. Pro-democracy protestors in 2019 vandalised businesses with links to mainland China. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A site of the pro-democracy protests is seen in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, China, April 30, 2021. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Grounds of the Chinese University of Hong Kong is seen in Hong Kong, China, May 8, 2021. REUTERS/Lam Yik SEARCH "YIK SECURITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES