When you get caught in Free Speech: Hong Kong protesters gather in Shibuya

yellow face masks black shirts; A large banner reads “Free Hong Kong Revolution Now”.

On July 2, 50 people gathered at the Shibuya stampede intersection in Tokyo to draw attention to Hong Kong’s plight. They were members of several activist groups associated with Hong Kong in Japan.

Their protest came a day after the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China on 1 July 1997. On this anniversary, Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Hong Kong.

The 1997 handover of Hong Kong was accompanied by China’s promise to run it according to the “one country, two systems” principle, guaranteeing a set of basic freedoms for its citizens. However, on July 1, 2020, China imposed a new national security law, which applies the Chinese definition of the crimes of secession, subversion and terrorism, to the Special Administrative Region, eliminating the idea of ​​”one country, two systems”.

Since then, activists have been jailed, media institutions closed, and people have fled from what was once a beacon of freedom and prosperity in the region.

About 3,000 kilometers away in Tokyo, young people were showing that they had not forgotten the promises of 1997.

Protesters carried signs providing examples of what is acceptable in Japan but is now considered illegal behavior in Hong Kong. Some of them read: “Raise your voice for the democratization of Hong Kong,” “Covering democratic-leaning parties,” and “Reading a book on Tiananmen.”

“What is considered normal behavior in Japan will be enough to get you arrested in Hong Kong,” said William Lee, leader of Stand with Hong Kong, shouting in front of a crowd of about 100 bystanders.

William Lee speaks to the audience (far left) on July 2, 2022, in Shibuya, Tokyo. Ban Winnie the Pooh

Lee cited the absurdity of banning Winnie-the-Pooh videos in China, and now in Hong Kong under the new national security law, simply because Pooh looks like President Xi.

Later in an interview, Lee shared a message for Japanese policy makers with JAPAN Forward.

What happened in Hong Kong is not an isolated problem. He said there is a possibility that this could negatively affect people in Japan.

At the demonstration, activists distributed leaflets. An eighteen-year-old passer-by from Saitama, who took up one of the posts, told the Sankei Shimbun, “I’ve never thought so deeply about the idea of ​​freedom, and I hope this will be an opportunity for many to think about Hong Kong ー and what freedom means.”

A demonstrator displays satirical photos at the July 2, 2022 demonstration in Shibuya. Support from a Chinese colleague

Not only were people from Hong Kong participating in the demonstration. There was a man in his twenties from Shenzhen in mainland China. He told us that he prefers to remain anonymous because the Chinese authorities monitor all citizens.

The man explained how he had always been concerned about the Hong Kong issue, even while in China. “But I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t post on social media because it was too risky. All I could do was talk to my parents and try to tell them what was going on too.”

The man from Shenzhen was holding a yellow umbrella, a reference to the umbrella movement in 2014 when Hong Kong residents poured into the streets to demand the right to elect their leader.

“Hong Kong is very similar to China culturally,” he said seriously, “so as a Chinese, I wanted to do something and show my support.”

Another man in his twenties from near Beijing echoed the first man’s feelings. It is part of the Democratic Federation of China.

In China, there are many people who have lost their rights. Not only in Hong Kong, but in the Uyghurs [region of Xinjiang] And in Tibet. Many people are imprisoned for politically related crimes.”

Recounting how he joined the protest in Hong Kong for a week in 2019, he said, “There were millions of people on the streets, but there were also a lot of policemen.”

“As overseas Chinese, we need to tell people what the government is doing to the Chinese people,” he concluded.

Pointing out the steps that the Japanese government can take on Hong Kong, he said, “Japan has a very important economic relationship with China. The Japanese government has the ability and the duty to stop trade with China.”

For more information on Hong Kong’s activities in Japan, follow on Twitter Stand with HK @JPN (standwith_jpn), Act with HK (actwithhk), Dawn of Hong Kong (dawnofhongkong), Lady Liberty Hong Kong (hkladyliberty) or the Japan Parliamentary Alliance on China (japan_pac).

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Author: Ariel Busetto

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