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1000’s of exiled Hongkongers and allies marked the third anniversary of the 2019 Hong Kong protest motion in cities world wide on the weekend, with a big crowd gathering on Parliament Sq. in London to mark the primary anniversary of mass public protests on June 12, 2019.
Some 4,000 protesters gathered in London gathered at Marble Arch, marching to Parliament Sq. to chant slogans together with “Free Hong Kong! Revolution now!”, which has been banned beneath a draconian nationwide safety legislation in Hong Kong.
Exiled former pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Legislation stated individuals’s targets weren’t all the identical, however that Hongkongers in exile would nonetheless work collectively.
“Some individuals need an armed revolution, the liberation of Hong Kong, and independence for Hong Kong,” Legislation stated. “We now have additionally heard how we would use tradition to vary a society.”
“We think about completely different paths to succeed in the purpose, however all of us share the identical values,” he stated. “We’re numerous, we do not have just one voice, and we do not have just one option to categorical what we wish.”
“This range might be complementary, and coexist with none of us being subordinate to one another or telling one another what to do, however with the neighborhood responding to everybody when wanted,” he stated.
In Liverpool, drone footage confirmed a line of dozens of individuals alongside a busy buying road, dressed within the black of the 2019 protest motion, and carrying the yellow umbrellas of the democracy motion.
On the London rally, individuals had been requested to recollect the ten,277 individuals arrested and the two,800 prosecuted beneath the nationwide safety legislation, which was imposed on town by the ruling Chinese language Communist Occasion (CCP) from July 1, 2020, ushering in an ongoing crackdown on peaceable political opposition and public dissent.
The rally marked the mass protest that blockaded Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) on June 12, stopping lawmakers from moving into the chamber to move a massively unpopular authorized modification that may have allowed the extradition of alleged prison suspects to mainland China.
The protest was the primary of many to be quelled that 12 months by widespread police violence that noticed the firing of tear fuel and rubber bullets on an unarmed and peaceable crowd, lots of whom had been unable to flee, in addition to mass arrests and bodily beatings of principally younger individuals.
Teargas reminiscences
A younger man who was there on the time, and who now lives within the U.Ok., stated he nonetheless has vivid reminiscences of the day.
“After I bought there, all I may odor was the tough and pungent odor of tear fuel,” the person, who gave solely the nickname Karson, advised RFA on the London rally. “The individuals had been surrounded by [police firing] tear fuel, and there was no method for us to go away.”
“I bear in mind the police saying on the time that they needed the gang to disperse, however in addition they tear gassed protests that had [police approval], and … prevented individuals from leaving,” he stated. “That kind of motion in a crowded place induced individuals to trample one another.”
Karson, who’s within the troublesome means of making use of for political asylum, stated others should not be discouraged, as there are organizations set as much as assist asylum-seekers from Hong Kong.
A Hongkonger who arrived within the U.Ok. together with his household over a 12 months in the past, who gave solely the surname Chan, was additionally in Parliament Sq., becoming a member of in with a mass rendition of the Les Miserables hit “Do You Hear The Individuals Sing?”, which was typically sung in the course of the 2019 protests.
Chan stated his household had agreed the evening earlier than that they need to all attend to assist Hong Kong, now that they dwell abroad.
“I wish to inform our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong prisons that we’ve not forgotten you or given up on you,” Chan advised RFA. “We’re nonetheless very nervous about you and care about you, and hope you might be protected and nicely.”
Mrs Chan stated she is eager to not neglect the protest motion, and the next crackdown imposed by Beijing.
“I felt that I wanted to maintain the momentum going, in order that I do not neglect what occurred,” she stated. “This is not over, and I wish to see it by way of.”
The Chans’ 11-year-old daughter Kimmy stated she is within the means of explaining to her classmates what has befallen Hong Kong in recent times.
“I’ll inform them the story of the Hong Kong individuals, from the Umbrella Revolution [of 2014] to the current and attempt to take the battle to the worldwide entrance,” Kimmy stated. “Perhaps, if extra individuals learn about it, Hong Kong might be restored [to the way it was], I hope.”
Converse up when being bullied
An older lady, additionally surnamed Chan, stated she had come to the rally after residing within the U.Ok. for many years.
“I believe it is essential to ship on one’s guarantees and never simply to speak massive,” she stated. “As you may see from my slogan, we simply wish to get again what we deserve: it is that easy.”
“I believe if individuals are bullying you, and you might be sad about it, you need to communicate up.”
Comparable rallies had been held throughout the U.Ok. on Sunday, together with Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham.
Manchester police took away a person in a pink shirt who began taking part in the Chinese language nationwide anthem in the course of the rally within the metropolis.
Hongkongers and their supporters additionally rallied on the democratic island of Taiwan.
Some 700 individuals set off from Elephant Park in Taipei, lots of them sporting black clothes and shouting 2019 protest slogans, in addition to slogans calling on the authorities to defend Taiwan towards CCP infiltration and aggression.
“There’s nothing that individuals in Hong Kong can do proper now [because of the national security crackdown], so we who’re abroad ought to do a bit extra,” a protester surnamed Chan advised RFA. “It is necessary to maintain these reminiscences going now that we’re in a spot of relative security.”
One other protester surnamed Chow stated he had come alongside together with his spouse and two-year-old daughter.
“We needed her to expertise this … if there are demonstrations, we’ll do our greatest to be there,” Chow stated. “You’ll be able to’t tamper with historical past, or the reality.”
“Those that have the chance should train this treasured freedom of speech … in order that every part that Hongkongers have sacrificed will not be forgotten,” he stated.
Sang Pu, who heads the Taiwan Hong Kong Affiliation, stated such protests are necessary to maintain up morale in exile, and that democratic Taiwan was supportive of them.
Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
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