Nine years on, the death of Tiananmen Square activist Li Wangyang has remained shrouded in mystery, with his sister rejecting claims that he had committed suicide.

“He would not have killed himself,” Li Wangling told Apple Daily after visiting her brother’s grave in Hunan province on Sunday under the close watch of mainland Chinese public security authorities.

Li Wangyang had called for Beijing to vindicate the pro-democracy protests that led to the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, 1989.

He died on June 6, 2012, after being found hanging from a bar in a hospital in Hunan. Mainland authorities said he committed suicide, but Li’s family rejected this claim.

“I believe my brother. He was a strong man. He had gone through inhumane treatment in jail for 23 years. After his release, he stayed in hospital and we were with him. How could he possibly kill himself?” Li Wangling said.

Li Wangling said she told her late brother in front of his grave about the arrests of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy figures and authorities’ suppression of commemorative events for victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

“I told him that since last year, Hong Kong authorities have arrested many people over June 4 commemorations,” said Li Wangling, who has been banned by mainland authorities from traveling outside China.

Li Wangling said she felt conflicted about what was happening. On one hand, she hoped that people would continue to fight for truth and justice, but on the other hand, she wished that Hongkongers could protect themselves under the city’s repression.

“If I could step forward and ward off some of the threats they were facing, I am willing to do so,” she added.

She visited her brother’s grave alone on Sunday. Her husband, Zhao Baozhu, who had accompanied her for the past eight years, was in hospital after being diagnosed with late-stage cancer.

Zhao expressed gratitude to Hongkongers for their support for mainland Chinese pro-democracy activists over the years. “Many Hongkongers continue to be unyielding despite the recent suppression from authorities. My thanks and respect go to them,” Zhao told Apple Daily during a telephone interview.

Li Wangling said she was trying to raise 100,000 yuan (US$15,600) for Zhao’s surgery. Zhao had undergone an operation earlier, but a recent examination showed that the cancer cells had spread to his liver.

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