AFP, September 16th, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Hong Kong shaken by 100 days of huge\npro-democracy protests, activists have adopted a host of creative ways to fuel their\nmovement away from the barricades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From laser pen light shows, to flashmob singalongs and human chains,\nwe look at some of the inventive methods embraced by a movement that shows no\nsigns of abating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Flashmob singalongs –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Music has long played a prominent role in Hong Kong’s\nyears of democracy rallies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tune that received the most traction early on in\nthis summer’s protests was the catchy Christian hymn “Sing Hallelujah to\nthe Lord” as well as “Do you hear the people sing?” from the\nmusical “Les Miserables”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in the last fortnight a new anthem has been\nembraced with gusto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Glory to Hong Kong” was written by an\nanonymous composer and has gone viral, its defiant lyrics repeatedly belted out\nat protests, nightly flashmob concerts in city malls and even football matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Laser shows –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Laser pointers were initially used by frontline\nprotesters to indicate police positions, distract officers and stop people from\ntaking photos or videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But they were adopted en masse after a student leader\nwith 10 laser pens in his bag was arrested for possession of an offensive\nweapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then demonstrators have held\n“lightshows” outside of police stations and at most public\ngatherings, lending the protests a somewhat surreal disco-vibe once the sun\nsets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Human chains –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Human chains were first adopted in late August on the\n30th anniversary of the Baltic Way, when more than a million people linked arms\nin huge anti-Soviet Union demonstrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The symbol caught on. Tens of thousands have taken\npart in human chains across the city in recent weeks, some formed on top of\nfamous hills such as the Peak and Lion Rock. Secondary school students have\nalso formed them each morning before classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Crowd-funding –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Several online crowd-funding campaigns have been\nhugely successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two campaigns raised over HK$21 million ($2.7 million)\nto place adverts in major international newspapers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “By placing ads internationally, we can break\nthrough the filter of the media and show the world the truth underneath the\ngovernment propaganda,” a campaign co-organiser, who gave his name as\nTaylor, told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other campaigns have raised money to build a\nfour-metre-tall statue called “Lady Liberty Hong Kong” and to provide\ndefence funds for the some 1,400 people arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Lennon Walls –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Plastered in colourful sticky-notes, posters and\nslogans, “Lennon Walls” have sprung up in more than a hundred\nlocations across the city, often in pedestrian tunnels or near subway stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first Hong Kong wall appeared during huge\npro-democracy protests in 2014 and was a local take on a public graffiti wall\nin Prague that appeared after the 1980 murder of John Lennon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When crowds of government supporters tore down a\nLennon Wall outside the city’s parliament early on in this summer’s protests,\ndemocracy activists simply created new ones in their local neighbourhoods.\nWalls are still being torn down by opponents but they reappear within hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – 10pm chanting –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hong Kongers have taken to shouting protest slogans\nfrom their apartments each night at 10pm, inspired by cacerolazos, a form of\nprotest that emerged in authoritarian Chile during the 1970s and has since been\nadopted by multiple dissent movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a city renowned for the highest concentration of\nskyscrapers in the world, the chanting is particularly effective, with popular\nslogans such as “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution now” and “No\nrioters, only tyranny” bouncing off buildings and echoing through\nneighbourhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Mooncakes –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditionally given during the mid-autumn festival,\nthese dense pastries have been given a protest makeover. One bakery has sold\ntens of thousands of cakes which sport popular protest slogans on their crusts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Protest art –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Painting, calligraphy, comic strips, sculptures —\nHong Kongers have been working around the clock to provide an artistic backdrop\nto their protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much of the art is distributed in a highly modern\nfashion — shared on online forums or pinged to people’s phones using Bluetooth\nand Airdrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not unusual for someone’s phone to receive\nmultiple digital flyers and posters each day, especially on the subway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon the same artworks are printed and placed on the\ncity’s Lennon Walls, which have become a constantly evolving canvas of dissent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Flags –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Small groups of protesters have waved the flags of\nBritain, colonial era Hong Kong and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But by far the most common flag is the “wilted\nbauhinia” — a twist on Hong Kong’s official flag, a white bauhinia flower\non a red backdrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new flag has turned the backdrop black, to reflect\nthe mood of the streets, and the bauhinia flower is wilted and blood-stained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australian-based Chinese dissident artist Badiucao,\nwho draws daily cartoons for the protest movement, has also created a flag of\nrainbow-coloured squares, meant to symbolise the Lennon Walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another popular emblem directed at Beijing is dubbed\n“Chinazi” — a red flag with yellow stars in the shape of a swastika.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – ‘Be water’ –<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Inventiveness has been a core principle of the\nprotests themselves with the phrase “Be water” commonly chanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The slogan references a philosophy of unpredictability\nespoused by local kung fu legend Bruce Lee and encourages protesters to keep\nmobile in a bid to stretch police resources and avoid mass arrests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protesters have also found creative ways to hold\nrallies that are banned, portraying them instead as opportunities to go window\nshopping, hold picnics or gather for religious meetings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AFP, September 16th, 2019 With Hong Kong shaken by 100 days of huge pro-democracy protests, activists have adopted a host of creative ways to fuel their movement away from the barricades. From laser pen light shows, to flashmob singalongs and human chains, we look at some of the inventive methods embraced by a movement that shows no signs of abating. – Flashmob singalongs – Music has long played a prominent role in Hong Kong’s years of democracy rallies. The tune that received the most traction early on in this summer’s protests was the catchy Christian hymn “Sing Hallelujah to the Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights-civil-disobedience-courage-honesty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":217,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions\/217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spblinux.de\/Staying-the-Course\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}