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QUEENS WEEKLY, AUGUST 18, 2019
Queens fi ghts for Hong Kong democracy
Local residents play key roles in protests aimed at preserving Chinese island’s autonomy and freedom
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
As Hong Kong heads
into its 10th week of mass
political demonstrations
calling for withdrawal
of an extradition bill
and wider democratic
reform, activists and
supporters in Queens and
throughout New York City
are standing in solidarity
with protesters.
Over 100 protestors
convened at Pier 81 at
West 42nd Street and 12th
Avenue in Manhattan
on Aug. 10, across the
street from the Chinese
Consulate, voicing their
opposition against the
extradition bill, which
would extend the power
of mainland authorities
in China to extradite
individuals who are
wanted in territories
with which the mostly
autonomous Hong Kong
government does not have
extradition agreements.
If the bill is passed, it
would bring Hong Kong
closer under China’s
control — where the justice
system has a record of
torture, serious violations
of fair trial rights,
enforced disappearances
and various systems of
incommunicado detention
without trial, according to
human rights organization
Amnesty International.
As a result, on June
9, over a million people
took to the streets in
Hong Kong protesting the
government’s refusal to
withdraw the bill, which
has led to the arrests
of over 600 people and
excessive police violence,
according to activist
Anna Cheung, founder
of NY4HK (New Yorkers
Supporting Hong Kong),
an organization formed
in September 2015 in
support of the democracy
movement in Hong Kong.
Though Hong Kong’s
Chief Executive Leader,
Carrie Lam, shelved
the bill in mid-June,
demonstrators are calling
for her resignation
and wider demands for
democratic reform in
the city.
“It is pretty bad and right
now as we are speaking,
they’re protesting at the
Hong Kong International
Airport,” Cheung told
QNS in a phone interview
after returning from Hong
Kong. “It’s very emotional.
It’s different when I’m here
hosting a rally to support
them. People are working
together and there are
thousands of people on
the street, especially
the youngsters. When I
go to the assembly, you
cannot even get through.
The people are peaceful
and polite.”
The Hong Kong
International Airport
returned to normal
operations on Aug. 14
following clashes between
protesters and police,
CNN reported. Almost 200
flights to and from Hong
Kong Monday had been
canceled as thousands
of protesters shut down
the airport.
Cheung, an activist
for 25 years, was joined
by outspoken critics at
the NY4HK Manhattan
rally giving members
and outside supporters
a platform to voice their
concerns on the erupting
protests in Hong Kong.
“They’ve been
watching this every day …
some of them immigrated
here or came to study so
they feel they want to
at least chant with me
… they get excited and
sing the songs,” Cheung
said. “They want to be
a part of it and show
their support.”
Queens connections to
Hong Kong protest
Hundreds of volunteers
across the city have joined
the movement — including
two Queens residents, who
used to live in Hong Kong.
They expressed their
sentiments to QNS in a
phone interview about the
violent clash between the
riot police and protesters.
Born and raised in Hong
Kong for 14 years prior to
moving to San Francisco
and then New York City
to continue her academic
studies, Yvonne Chen, 29,
of Fresh Meadows, said
she began paying more
attention to the living
conditions, politics and
news in Hong Kong.
“It changes every time
I go back,” said Chen, who
visits the city one to two
times a year. “Protests
happened every year in
Hong Kong since 1997
and that’s because we
are given the right to do
so. Sadly, the Hong Kong
government never listens
to our voices, even though
all of the protests from the
past were very peaceful.”
Chen joined NY4HK
in 2014 when the political
Umbrella Movement
in Hong Kong gained
momentum during prodemocracy
protests
in September 2014. It
prompted her to return to
Hong Kong that year, she
said.
“The main purpose of
the Umbrella Movement
was universal suffrage,”
Chen said. “The entire
government system was
corrupt because it was
handpicked by the Chinese
government, and then it
moved to different areas
in Hong Kong because the
government didn’t respond
to our requests and just let
us be.”
Why they protest
Hong Kong — a special
administrative region of
the People’s Republic of
China, with a population
of over 7.4 million people
of various nationalities
— was a British colony for
more than 150 years. Part
Protesters attend the NY4HK (New Yorkers Supporting Hong Kong) rally on Aug. 10 denouncing the proposed extradition
bill, which would allow the handover of individiuals in the territory of Hong Kong to mainland China.
Photos by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech