Stand with the Truth, Stand with Hong Kong
Stand with the Truth, Stand with Hong Kong
  • Lee Ji-seon (Mueunjae 19)
  • 승인 2020.01.05 18:06
  • 댓글 0
이 기사를 공유합니다

Underneath the beautiful city lights that glitter in the night sky, the citizens of Hong Kong have been battling for their future. It’s been years since the Umbrella Revolution took place, and another storm had struck Hong Kong. Now, once again the city stands in the middle of the chaos, with flames burning with desire for freedom and democracy. More than a million of people are out on the streets, fighting against the chocking hands of China around their necks.
When China regained its sovereignty over Hong Kong from the British in 1997, it was under agreement “one country, two nations”, which allowed the city to retain its own capitalistic and democratic system independently from the mainland China. However, the citizens were never given the chance to either vote their own leader or all of the members consisting the Legislative Council. Hong Kong could never find freedom, not with Chinese government overshadowing the system ever since the day of handover. In 2047, Hong Kong will become fully absorbed to China. China isn’t just sitting in the back, waiting until the due date- they are slowly tightening their grip around Hong Kong. 
This year, the Extradition Bill was yet another attempt of China to increase their control over Hong Kong. The bill would make it legal for China to take away pro-democracy activists to the mainland, and as they normally do to anyone who displeases its government, imprison them. People saw how threatening it was for Hong Kong and started to raise their voices.
The first large-scale demonstrations began on June 9. The citizens protested peacefully against the law, until they were faced with tear gas, rubber bullets and violence of police. After 13 weeks of protests, the extradition bill finally had been withdrawn. However, the protests showed no sign of dying out. The inhumane actions and brutality of police had fueled the protestors to prepare for a longer battle. The citizens are now aiming not just at the withdrawal of the law, but at the full democracy for Hong Kong.
 Some non-Hong Kongers on the internet believe these protestors are no more than rioters disrupting law and order of the society. I strongly believe that this is because they have no idea on how the government act on democratic protests like these. In the country where I live, the people had won the democracy and freedom with their own bare hands in decades of protests against dictatorship. During these years, peaceful protests were often mispresented as ‘riots’, and spies(known as ‘fraktsiya’) were planted inside the rallies of protestors. Apparently China is doing the same thing in this year and there was no doubt that some of the footages showing violent actions of protestors have been manipulated by these spies. I don’t believe that I have the right to define these protests as something other than what Hong Kongers themselves have defined them to be. I don’t even think anyone outside Hong Kong has any right to do so neither. All we should do is listen to the truth which lies in the mouths of those people who are fighting for their life in the middle of gunfire and haze of tear gases.
After months of protests, Hong Kong have become a forefront of the battles against unjust oppression of China, representing every innocent people whose freedom had been taken away by Chinese government. I would like to send endless support for the Hong Kong citizens who know the meaning of freedom, and how to fight for it. May their names be remembered forever, and their souls live on.