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QUEENS WEEKLY, AUGUST 18, 2019
of it, Hong Kong Island,
was ceded to the United
Kingdom after the first
Opium War in 1842. Later,
China also leased the rest
of Hong Kong — the new
territories — to the British
for 99 years.
Sovereignty over the
territory was transferred
to China in 1997, under the
principle of “one country,
two systems,” with its own
mini-constitution, the
Basic Law. Following the
agreement between the
UK and China, Hong Kong
gained autonomy, except in
foreign and defense affairs,
for the next 50 years.
Under the constitution,
Hong Kong has its own
legal system and borders,
and rights including
freedom of assembly and
free speech, which are
protected. Other rights
include “no arbitrary or
unlawful arrest, detention
or imprisonment; torture
of any resident or arbitrary
or unlawful deprivation of
the life of any residents
shall be prohibited.”
Demonstrators have
listed their five key
demands: Withdrawal
of the extradition
bill; retraction of the
proclamation protests
on June 9 and June 12; a
withdrawal of criminal
charges against all
protestors; a thorough
investigation of abuse
of powers by the police;
and dissolution of the
legislative council by
administrative order;
and an immediate
implementation of Dual
Universal Suffrage.
Fighting a
‘puppet regime’
According to Chen,
a lot of people may see
the movement as anti-
China or even Hong Kong
seeking independence,
which she says, is a yes
and no question.
“We are just fighting
for what Beijing promised
in the joint declaration,”
Chen said. “Every night,
every time I watch this
live news in Hong Kong
time overnight and I
have to go to work and
school the next day, I
have to pretend nothing
happened. It affects me a
lot. You just really want to
go back and help, but you
can’t go because you’re
trying to find other ways
and sources to help those
people out, but you’re
not there and that still
hurts me a lot. Some of
my friends and family
members in Hong Kong,
either they don’t care
or are pro-police. They
can’t see what’s right
or wrong.”
Chandelier Loo, 30,
of Bayside, said the
protests have affected
her mentally by realizing
that the judicial system is
totally broken.
“Most of us believe that
Carrie Lam, the Hong Kong
chief executive, has been
controlled like a puppet by
the Beijing government,”
Loo said. “Hong Kong
is still running under
the “one-country, twosystem”
policy and what’s
happening in the recent
days has exposed the
truth that the Beijing
government has once
again lied to the world:
there is no such thing.”
Upon her trip to
Hong Kong in July, Loo
witnessed protesting in
Sha Tin, Central, Yuen
Long and Causeway Bay,
where police officers
arrested people who
weren’t conducting illegal
activity, she said.
“Young people were
trying to assist people
with asthma exacerbation
from tear gas exposure,
efficiently set up
barricades to safeguard
front line medical staff.
Pity-looking homemade
styrofoam shields and
swimming boards were
used as defensive measures
by those in the front line
who are prepared and
feared of being harmed
by police,” Loo said. “The
Hong Kong Police were
protecting and letting
‘white-shirted’ gangsters
leave after they abused
by-passers, and telling
protesters to leave the site
and arresting those who
were trying to leave.”
For Loo, joining NY4HK
gave her an opportunity to
help fellow Hong Kongers
even though she is not
able to be by their side,
she said.
“Looking back to the
Umbrella Revolution in
2014, my desire to fight
for democracy in Hong
Kong has not changed; the
only difference is that my
feelings of powerlessness
has increased over time
as my body is in the
USA and my spirit in
Hong Kong,” Loo said.
“This movement is also
affecting the economy
in the U.S. because Hong
Kong is basically used
as a bargaining chip
between China and the
U.S.’s trade war. If Hong
Kong’s financial status
goes down, so does the
world because Hong Kong
is a major financial hub
of Asia.”
Loo added, “There
is a popular saying in
the internet forum from
the young Hong Kong
population to the Chinese
government, ‘If we burn,
you burn with us; and if
you burn, you burn.”
Reach reporter
Carlotta Mohamed by
email at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4526.
/schnepsmedia.com
