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Overview
This photo montage was created in 2019 by a member of the activist group, We Are Kiwi Hong Kongers 香港逃犯條例修訂草案紐西蘭關注, to help raise local awareness of issues associated Hong Kong protest movement. As the montage suggests, activists associated with the placed stickers in various locations on the streets of Wellington urging passers-by to ‘Stand with Hong Kong’ and directing them to hashtags associated with the movement including:
#standwithHK
#antiELab*
#noChinaExtradition
#FreedomHK
#FiveDemands
#Nooneless**
Some of the stickers pictured feature the 香港/加油(Heunggong/Ga yau) ambigram, one of the most recognisable symbols of the Hong Kong protest movement. Designed by Kyo from Taiwan, it reads 香港 (Hong Kong) or, when rotated anti-clockwise by 90 degrees, 加油 (Add Oil) — this is a term of encouragement especially popular among Cantonese.
The 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movement subsequently evolved and continued through much of the first half of 2020, though the Extradition Bill was withdrawn in October 2019.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.
* ELAB is an acronym for Extradition Law Amendment Bill)
** ‘Noooneless’ is a reference to the chant ‘Five Demands, not one less’. The Five Demands laid out by Hong Kong protest supporters are: 1) Full withdrawal of the Extradition Bill 2) A commission of inquiry into alleged police brutality 3) Retraction of the categorisation of protesters as 'rioters' (rioting is a punishable crime) 4) Amnesty for arrested protesters and 5) Dual universal suffrage (for elections of Hong Kong's Legislative Council and Chief Executive).