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Overview
This white ribbon was brought to a solidarity protest against the Hong Kong Extradition Bill, held on 16 June 2019 at Aotea Square, Auckland.
White ribbons have played a significant role in the Hong Kong protests - the colour white is said to symbolise the pure intentions of the pro-democracy protesters and white ribbons were also worn by many supporters in memory of 35 year old Marco Leung, who fell to his death in Hong Kong on 14 June 2019 (Hong Kong time) - just a day before this Auckland event was held. Leung, who was photographed just hours before his death wearing a yellow raincoat and hanging a protest banner on the balcony from which he ultimately fell, is generally regarded as the first martyr of the Hong Kong protest movement. Since his death, Hong Kong protest supporters have often worn yellow raincoats, and carried or worn white flowers and ribbons to related events, in honour of him.
More generally, ribbons of various colours have been associated with a number of major protest movements in Asia. Yellow ribbons, for instance, were a highly visible part of the Umbrella Movement in 2014 and also Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement. Comparisons are often drawn between these various protest movements and the Hong Kong Extradition Bill protest movement. White ribbons have also been worn by supporters of the anti-government protests in Thailand in 2020, while black and red ribbons have been worn in significant campaigns connected to protests in Myanmar.