A human chain stretched for kilometres across both sides of Hong Kongharbour on Friday night, as people turned out for a peaceful demonstration inspired by anti-Soviet protesters three decades ago.

Joining hands and singing songs, tens of thousands of demonstrators lined Hong Kong’s pavements, overpasses, waterfronts and parks, and scaled one of its most famous peaks, picking out the outline of Lion Rock with the light of waving mobile phones.

On 23 August 1989, around 2 million protesters formed a human chain stretching 370 miles (600km) across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, a show of defiance against Moscow that became known as the Baltic Way. Within a year, the three countries would all be independent. The symbolism is unlikely to be lost on authorities in Beijing.