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Overview
These tattoo transfers were created for protest rallies in Auckland and Wellington in 2019. They feature the well-known 香港/加油 ambigram designed by Taiwan-based graphic designer Kyo Chen, which reads either ‘Hong Kong’ or ‘Add Oil’ (a phrase of encouragement roughly equivalent to ‘Go for it!’) when rotated 90 degrees.
After the catchcry 香港加油 (which means ‘Go Hong Kong’) was blocked online by China censors during the early stages of the Hong Kong protests 2019, many supporters took to sharing the ambigram – apart from its general visual appeal and cleverness, the image also helped protest supporters to bypass online censors by avoiding the need to type out the full phrase.
The design, which was specifically created by Kyo Chen as a response to the protests and made freely available for reproduction, has been since shared widely on social media, printed on merchandise, tattooed, stuck on public surfaces and more. It is one of the most recognisable visual slogans of the protest 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movement subsequently evolved and continued through much of the first half of 2020, though the Extradition Bill was withdrawn in October 2019.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 ‘Free 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.