Hong Kong police said on Sunday they had detained eight people near a park, four of them for "seditious intention and disorderly conduct," as authorities tightened security on the 34th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Restrictions in Hong Kong have stifled what were once the biggest vigils marking the bloody crackdown by Chinese troops on pro-democracy demonstrators, leaving cities like London, New York, Berlin and Taipei to keep alive the memory on the June 4 anniversary.

Commemorations are expected on Sunday in at least 30 places in North America, Europe and Asia.