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Overview
This yellow hardhat was brought to the 'New Zealand Solidarity with Hong Kong' rally held at the University of Auckland Quad on 6 August 2019. The event was organised by Auckland-based student activists connected with the group We Are Kiwi Hong Kongers 香港逃犯條例修訂草案紐西蘭關 注組.
The aims of the event were
1. To show solidarity with the anti-Extradition Bill movement in Hong Kong;
2. To raise awareness in the University; and
3. To provide a platform for students to express their views and opinions towards this issue.
Helmets and hardhats were used during the 2014 Umbrella Movement, but took on greater prominence during the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests. Like umbrellas, the hardhats served both functional and symbolic purposes in Hong Kong, protecting protesters in potentially violent situations and signalling the protesters’ resolve. Across Hong Kong, people also wore hardhats to go about their everyday activities as a form of silent protest. According to one of the activists involved in organising the event, "The reason why helmets were used in the rally organised in UoA is to visualise the protestors to our audience.”
Hardhats have also become an online meme associated with the protest movement, with hashtags such as #hardhatrevolution gaining popularity. The colour yellow is also associated with the 2014 Yellow Umbrella movement and Taiwan's 2013 Sunflower movement.
Hong Kong protest movement and Aotearoa
The Hong Kong protests were originally incited by the proposed Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019. Also known as the Hong Kong Extradition Bill, the proposed legislation would have enabled Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China to face trial. The protest movement subsequently evolved and continued through much of the first half of 2020, though the Extradition Bill was withdrawn in October 2019. On 30 June 2020, the Chinese legislature approved the controversial National Security Law, bypassing Hong Kong’s own elected legislative council. This law effectively outlawed activities perceived as dissenting or secessionist, including the possession of protest banners and flags carrying slogans associated with the protest movement such as ‘Liberate Hong Kong/Revolution of our Times’.
The Hong Kong protests have garnered significant international attention due to Hong Kong’s importance to the global economy and the political aspects of China’s increasing prominence as a global player. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the protests have prompted wide-ranging debates, including those relating to democracy and freedom of speech, New Zealand’s relationship to China and the government’s obligations to those connected to Hong Kong but based here, among them international students and temporary visa holders, as well as citizens and permanent residents with familial and cultural links to Hong Kong.
Selected references
New Zealand Solidarity with Hong Kong, Facebook event page, https://www.facebook.com/events/654881738352191/ (accessed 13 July 2021).