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Overview
This sticker flier is one of several distributed by the activist group We Are Kiwi Hong Kongers 香港逃犯條例修訂草案紐西蘭關注組 at various rallies around Auckland and Wellington supporting the global Hong Kong protest movement. The artwork reproduced on it is a printed sketch of two protesters surrounded by tear gas, crouched in a defensive pose wearing helmets and tear gas masks, and holding a shield and umbrella held out in front of them. The text in Chinese characters and English communicates the slogan ‘Liberate Hong Kong/Revolution of our Times’.
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movement subsequently evolved and continued through much of the first half of 2020, though the Extradition Bill was withdrawn in October 2019.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.
This sticker flier is one of several printed by members of the We Are Kiwi Hong Kongers group to display and distribute at various solidarity protests in Wellington and Auckland. They are prints of artwork originally created by Hong Kong activists supporting the Hong Kong protests in 2019, reproduced because of their striking and effective conveyance of the protesters' messages. Stickers and fliers such as these have played a significant role in the wider Hong Kong protest movement, circulating globally-recognisable images, symbols and messages connected with it across geographical borders.