Hong Kong nationalism is emerging as a key element of Hong Kong democracy activism. The annual June 4 vigil commemoration in Victoria Park, the most important ceremonial activity of the original democracy movement, has been losing relevance as it is a “patriotically Chinese” event. A new annual ceremony, first performed in 2016, is an expression of Hong Kong nationalism. It occurs in the same month as the vigil, on the 23rd day. The ritual, named the SARS Heroes activity, ostensibly commemorates the removal of Hong Kong from the World Health Organisation's "SARS-infected-area" list on June 23, 2003. I observed the second performance of this ritual, in June 2017, the 14th anniversary of the WTO's action. The ceremony pays tribute to the seven Hong Kong doctors and nurses who were infected with and later died of SARS after treating patients suffering the respiratory virus. I contend that the ritual’s emphasis on the martyrdom of these seven Hong Kong doctors and nurses, to the exclusion of others, is the most important formalistic expression of Hong Kong nationalism and suggests the mythologisation and historicisation of the SARS experience as the putative Hong Kong nation's formative experience.