Rally in support of Hong Kong

I followed the umbrella movement in Hong Kong back in 2014 and also paid close attention to 2019’s freedom protests. These were first brought on by the extradition law Bejing wanted to impose on Hong Kong that would have subjected the people to the court system in China.

As their court system system boasts a remarkable 99% at finding people guilty you can understand their reluctance to be subject to it. The Chinese prosecuters must be amongst the world’s best. In fact it is likely only North Korea’s judicial system, which finds people guilty  100% of the time, is more outstandingly effective at identifying and nailing criminals. But maybe I too am guilty – of splitting hairs between those two highly efficient courts.

I’m actually quite an anti-authoritarianism type of guy. The prospect and thought of it, let alone the reality, sickens my freedom loving soul. If I see a beneficial goal I wish to achieve – to put it in plain terms this invariably means communicating via photography – I resent petty or great authority  attempting to stand in my way
for no valid reason.

So it is hard for me to imagine how much of a weight on the soul living under a totalitarian dictatorship would be.  Instead of diamonds on the soles of your shoes it would be lead. Every day you’d feel its weight. It is an affront to the natural rights and freedom loving aspirations of humanity. I’ve also read the experience described as being “unbelievably boring.”

 The people of Hong Kong are actually a minority group. A hundred and fifity years of British governorship, the traditions of Britain and the rule of law have made them so. They look Chinese and have regional cultural characteristics, but they also have western DNA written into them. 

I took these photos at a rally in Belmore Park – which is adjacent to Central Station and Chinatown – and focused on the crowd’s emotions. The  events will continue to occur in Hong Kong while this rally was an outlier of it. But whether here or over there the feelings expressed are the same.

Events have since moved on and Hong Kong is now just another Chinese city. One Hong Kong resident, now fled, put it this way: “It is the same as Sydney becoming a dictatorship.”

Protesters preparing placards

Two men unfurl Hong Kong’s flag as the  crowd draws in.

These young protesters looked kind of cool all in black.

Embracing the Hong Kong flag.

There were tears in the eyes of many in the crowd.

This skinny young man flew out from Hong Kong to speak at the rally. He said he was born in the year of Hong Kong’s handover to China. (1997) This photo was taken after all the speeches had been delivered but the crowd were reluctant to leave. They lingered calling out patriotic slogans. Hearing them, the young man walked down and stood silently on the kerb facing them.

This focused their attention and they surged in to photograph his statue-like symbolic presence.