NOA Episode 5.2 Three Hong Kongers On A Sofa: You, Me, We
The article is part of the 'Hong Kong: One Year Ago Today' initiative which aims to raise awareness for the movement and also to debunk some myths regarding the movement’s origins and core elements.
In the following two episodes of ‘Three Hong Kongers On A Sofa: You, Me, We’, we will be sharing a few of the submissions we have received as part of our ‘Hong Kong: One Year Ago Today’ initiative. Promoting it as a means of personal expression, people have used our online submissions platform, ‘One Year Ago Today’, as a confessions platform to share with us their opinions, thoughts and confusions surrounding the anti-extradition demonstrations in 2019. Whilst the two episodes differ little in terms of their structure and format, they are both equally worth listening into, offering some raw, anecdotal and exclusive insight into what life was like during the movement’s progression.
The thumbnail picture was taken by photojournalist 馮凱鍵 from Ming Pao Daily News who was recently awarded a commendation in the 2020 Taiwan Press Photography Competition in the category General News
The name, ‘Three Hong Kongers On A Sofa: You, Me, We’, aims to replicate the intimacy that can be felt between two friends sharing stories with each other (on a sofa). As our focus is more on personal experiences and reflections, the tone of the episodes are rather anecdotal and aims to generate light-hearted discussions over various aspects of daily life that were impacted by the events from last year. We have called it, ‘You, Me, We’, to bridge the distance felt by people who are perhaps unfamiliar with Hong Kong and create a pocketed space for locals to share their experiences living in the same city.
In the second of our two-part podcast series, ‘Three Hong Kongers On A Sofa: You, Me, We’, continuing from where we left off last time, we will be sharing yet another series of reflections. This time, the confessions focus more on social changes in both the community and also at home. Observable changes in social behaviour and also interpersonal relations could be evidenced; whether that be with members of the public, friends and also family members.
'This time last year I was probably preparing from my A-Level examinations. The memory remains freshly ingrained in my head and I remember it was the weekend before one of the maths papers when the June 9th demonstrations took place. What had intended to be a weekend of intense revising turned into evenings of anxiety and a significant reduction in productivity. Alongside my textbook, I would have the live broadcast of the demonstrations up on my laptop. Needless to say, I was hardly focused on the maths at hand and became deeply obsessed with keeping in touch with the events in Hong Kong.
In hindsight, the distraction was probably underwhelming as the June 9th demonstrations were overall peaceful. However, what struck me was the sheer number of people who took the streets and also the attention that the Bill had gotten from the public. Even across the screen, I could feel the intensity of public discontent and longed for a solution to the concerns.
Concentrating on preparing for the exam was impossible, to say the least, and it was difficult to find consolation for what were some unprecedented public sentiments (concerns over the implications of the said Bill) in an A-Level maths textbook.
On the morning of the exam, when everyone was lined up outside the exam hall, testing each other on the odd SUVAT equation and proofs by contradiction, there we were, a handful of Hong Kongers shouting across the corridor, asking each other if we had seen the news: ‘did your family go? Have you seen the latest updates? do you think our plan to jam banks with synchronised cash withdrawals is going to work?’
The emotions that I had felt at the time were like any other. A combination of worry for the safety of my family and also fears for the future of Hong Kong should the Bill be passed. An entire 12 months later, the same sentiment is felt now but over a different Bill, the new Security Bill. Though the strength of the sentiments has intensified and its nature; changed.'
Aiden: I’m actually very lucky because I did the HKDSE which is the public exam of Hong Kong instead of A levels. When the political crisis actually started, I had already finished my exam and so I didn’t go through this anxiety during the exam period. I feel like, if I did go through this anxiety, it would have significantly affected your performance. You did the A levels right, so you must have had to go through that.
Angela: Yeah, I did do A-Levels and as the person said, anxiety; for sure anxiety. I remember during the term, the first time I really came across it was when I saw on Facebook and Instagram, all these umm...So at my school, there weren’t that many Hong Kong people and there wasn’t really that feeling of ‘someone else is worried about the same things as me,’ but you saw acts of solidarity in other schools across the UK. Where Hong Kong students come together to raise a flag, do a plaque, write something and show their support for the movement.
I mean I can’t say it affected my performance that much, but for sure, over the term, it was difficult to concentrate because you were thinking about home, think about what this could mean. For me, it was worrying about my family and also confusions in general about the Bill and what it was.
'Going to a university rally was unlike any of the public protests I had previously been to. Not only was the venue considerably different, in that unlike a traditional protest where there was a steady stream of mass movement, but it was also a collective of people on the Chinese University campus quad and not a lot of room for movement. As drones hovered above our heads, some deployed by the organisers of the rally and some by the media (some possibly by the government institutions), we all stood there in silence as somewhere in the distance, Student union presidents gave individual speeches of motivation to the attendees of the rally. At the time, internal frustrations about the summer heat and tiredness from walking up the hillside diffused and were replaced by a feeling of empowerment. Everyone there was in the situation together and pledged unity to the ‘common purpose’. It reminded me that I was not alone.'
Aiden: I was actually at that rally as well. For me, it was very different actually. I actually saw quite a lot of people I knew there unlike other protests that I have been to where I usually just go with my solid group of protest mates and I just kind of stick to them. At that university rally, I actually saw a lot of people I knew, which is kind of a different experience. The sense of community got a lot stronger when you actually see people you used to know or that you had already known.
'An avid follower of the ‘Hong Kongers Protest Schedule’ on social media and an avid protest goer, checking and reaffirming protest details became the single most important thing you had to do before attending any protest during the movement’s duration.
Information published well in advance of the protests were likely to be wrong and was almost always subject to last-minute changes. Often confronted with contradictory information, it became an adapted ritual when checking for social media updates and announcements. Particular care was taken when affirming the demonstration venue, start-time, attire and slogans that were to be used as each demonstration varied in their features and purpose.
It was asked by one of my close friends why it was that Hong Kongers only scheduled public protests on the weekends and never on weekdays. To tell the truth, I know not how to respond to this except for that fact that Hong Kongers have exceptional work ethics and high degrees of professionalism. Protests on the weekend were usually organised by the Civil Human Rights Front and advocated a ‘citizens all-in’ response.
Whereas, other movements during the week involved specific social groups such as teachers strikes, students strikes and lunch-hour strikes which called on white-collar workers in Central (our CBD equivalent) to protest during lunch breaks.
As summer wore on, protests on the weekend, business as usual on Monday mornings became the ‘new normal.’ It was like a mantra. The repeat of weekend protests and weekly pretence of political apathy was tiresome but we carried on because we were participating as a collective, motivated by the same aims.'
Angela: About the ‘Hong Konger’s Protest Schedule’ on social media and how you had to check details, during the time, there were these two social media platforms that were used a lot and became quite popular during the time and that was Telegram and also LIHKG. These two were like the two main social media platforms that were used for people to discuss and coordinate responses. I think people refer to it as Hong Kong’s version of Reddit. We also mention this in our features article and so definitely go and check out our article to understand a bit more about why Telegram and LIHKG became such popular platforms that were used during the time.
So with these teacher strikes and lunch-hour strikes, they were very much targeted at these specific groups of people right.
Aiden: I remember going to several of these group-specific rallies as well. They have like core groups of protestors at the stage and they invite people to come on to speak, but the people who are surrounding the stage are people of all different walks of life. They actually invite everyone to be there as well because it's always good to show support to the specific groups that were particularly under pressure. That’s my impression of these sorts of protests.
Angela: Think there were also some lawyer strikes.
Aiden: It was before the first main march when there was this legal community silent march which is usually called upon whenever the rule of law situation in Hong Kong is under threat. It was like the biggest silent march of all time after the handover in 1997. There were actually quite a few group-specific protests but I feel like there were also other supporters there as well. It goes back to the community effort where people are going out of their way to support each other.
'I remember a time when I was confronted with the dilemma of whether I should engage myself in a conversation with a drunk man over the then-current situation in Hong Kong.
This happened during the later months of summer and I was out in LKF when it happened. It was during those early hours of the morning where exhausted, you and some friends stood on the sidewalk contemplating whether you should go grab breakfast or head home.
A man, evidently drunk, came up from behind us and asked where we were from. All of us, apart from one, said we were from Hong Kong whilst the individual patiently explained that he was from Hong Kong but held a foreign passport. The man remarked that it was cool that he had a foreign passport, much better than having a Hong Kong one and being stuck here with all the protests.
He further asked if they were even safe to go to, to which my friend, having never been to a protest himself and only viewed what was shown on TV, explained poorly that they were not safe, extremely violent and dangerous. In my opinion, having been to a couple over the holidays, provided you stayed with the crowd and left when the crowd dispersed, they were relatively safe.
But by nature, I did not take this remark so well and snapped when jokingly, he asked why none of us were seen going to the protests, ‘It’s 3 am. No one is going to a protest at this ungodly hour and frankly, of all the people here, you are best suited as you even have on the black t-shirt.’ I was infuriated by his tone and his somewhat dismissive attitude to the movement as ‘child's-play’; something you could openly mock and make fun of.
For an issue that is so central to Hong Kongers daily lives to be spoken of lightly and perceived as some sort of game by a mere tourist in the city was frankly disrespectful and rude. Even friends that I knew that were in Hong Kong on their graduation trip have come into close encounters with tear-gas and felt unsettled by the experience.
For the first time since the start of the demonstrations in Hong Kong, even from an observer’s point of view, it felt wrong to make fun of what is considered by some people, protection of their personal liberties and standing up to social injustice.'
Aiden: When I came to London, this friend of mine actually said he was in Hong Kong when the protests first started. He actually didn’t realise it was happening until the day he was due to leave. So I guess the experience is actually quite different for tourists. Maybe that’s because, for this drunk man, it was in the later months of August, so he was aware of the movement then, but for my friend, he was completely unaware of it at the time. That is kind of interesting.
Angela: Talking about friends, I have a friend who told me this recently actually; she had actually been in Hong Kong in early May, so during the early stages of the movement. She was walking around the central area, that's like by Central, IFC. On one side, she saw these protestors that were dressed in their attire and kind of ‘acting up’ or simply acting differently because of the difference in the social atmosphere. And yet on the other side, there was this bunch of expats and tourists who were just there chilling, hanging around, getting drinks and having fun.
For her to be standing there, in the middle, seeing these two different social circles where people were interacting differently and governed by different social behaviours, obviously with different concerns in their mind, the contrast made people’s indifferences extremely obvious.
Aiden: When you talk about this, I remember going back to the same area where the protest was concentrated the morning after a particular protest. I was at a bank sorting out some things and when I was heading towards the bank, I heard some mainland Chinese tourists shouting, ‘this is the Hong Kong I am familiar with,’ with its high rise buildings and fancy shops in this glamorous central business district. Having just been to a protest the night before, it struck me how the scene changed so quickly but it's also how this business district became a kind of a focal point of the protest.
Angela: It's interesting how focal points even come to be.
And It's interesting looking at whether the media focuses on everything. I feel like personal experiences tell a lot more. Sure they are tainted with personal sentiment and personal attitudes and simultaneously it offers a really nice, rare, insight into a certain aspect.
'Words cannot explain fully my surprise when I first received demonstration propaganda ‘airdropped’ into my phone. As a user of Bluetooth headphones, the Bluetooth function on my phone is almost always switched on but I had never expected it to be used as a means of propaganda distribution.
It would show up as ‘[someone] wants to share an album of photos’ with you. Multiple times I stood still, startled, and began vigorously surveying the people around me in an attempt to seek out the mysterious sender. When I realised that my efforts were worthless, I’d try to act normal and contemplate whether I should accept or reject the photos.
In my opinion, it’s no different from ‘sexting’. It’s not about whether you are actively distributing the image, by just being in possession of them, you are already committing a crime. Even though they were just images of posters and flyers, it felt wrong to accept them. '
Aiden: True. I was never the person to be sending out those like pictures but I clicked ‘accept’ on multiple occasions and they actually included some very useful information to protests and the general public. So maybe that’s why some people keep doing that same thing, even though to some people that might be a nuisance and it might be annoying to be getting random airdrop notifications when you’re on the train.
Angela: I think sexting is a very weird comparison to make. No comment on that, but I’ll make a factual point in that, with propaganda distribution, during the course of the movement, ‘airdropping’ was used a lot for propaganda distribution. However, to say that it was ‘propaganda’ is a little extreme because they were sometimes of just flyers or pictures that offered a recount of what happened and some of them were information on the next rally or the next march. These flyers usually listed out crucial information into basic points so that it reached everyone and everyone knew what was going on. In a way it was like a form of media itself, it communicated a message and sometimes information.
Aiden: I guess it's not something that would happen under ordinary circumstances. It's not like you’re walking in London and you get these notifications.
'I still clearly remember arguing with my family at home every day about the Extradition Bill Crisis last summer. Even till now when I talk to them over the phone, we would still sometimes have the same argument when either of us touches upon the subject. It has definitely put some strain on our relationship and has made home a much less supportive environment especially when the protest is one of the biggest causes that I stand for.
My parents are in their late 50s and early 60s. They grew up and advanced their careers during the ‘golden decades’ of Hong Kong, and like many people of their age, politics were never their priorities as life was good back then. I think this life experience continues to contribute to their apoliticism, or so they claim to be, as it became clearer that they were in fact pro-government at heart, but just pretends to be apolitical/‘politically neutral’ as they like to say. I still remember arguments over which new channel to watch on TV, with me saying their preferred channel TVB is heavily biased in favour of the government and them saying why does it matter in a mocking tone. I somehow got them to compromise and start following news on NOW TV instead, a network that I believe is more neutral, but they, of course, have gone back to their old habits when I came to London for uni. I am grateful that they never physically stopped me from going to the protests. This is not to say they have tried to convince me otherwise. On 6.12, the day where the intense confrontation between the police and protestors took place. My mother tried to convince me to stay home by bringing up my late grandma, saying ‘what would she think of you when she is still alive.’ These words have stuck with me ever since.
This sense of frustration and disappointment at home was a big contrast to the environment at work. I at the time was working at my mother’s business friend’s company. After the first day of protest (9/6), me, an extremely weak person who never exercised unsurprisingly got heatstroke after the march from Causeway Bay to the Government Headquarters that took a full day. Both my supervisor and my boss were very supportive, allowing me to stay at home to rest the next two days and said you are doing what had to be done. The topic of conversations at the workplace quickly changed from trivial stuff like what drama series people were watching during lunch to how ridiculous the government and the police were being in the first few weeks of the movement. Other than my peers, the job that I initially dreaded, became a very important support system that helped me through the turbulent times everyone was going through. Looking back it was an extremely rough summer. The inevitable doom of the result release date was coming up. And with the stress of working Mondays to Fridays and protesting on the weekends without any time to rest, as well as being reminded every day that the city that I was once proud of was in fact a big fat lie, I honestly have no idea how I managed. But that was only the beginning of more and more troubles and absurdity, that every Hong Konger, whether overseas like me or those who remained in the city, still have to live with every single day.'
Aiden: I feel like this took on quite a dark tone compared to the other confessions but the protests’ taking a toll on relationships was definitely a common theme for the past year. I felt like quite a few people divorced over differences in political views.
My family is actually quite supportive already. Even though we don’t have the same political view, we agree to disagree even though we might have arguments sometimes. For some rather unlucky protestors, some families have cut them off completely or disowned them from the family. Whilst rare, it goes to show how important political views are to some people.
Angela: That is a valid point. Political views have taken up a big aspect of people’s conversations nowadays in Hong Kong and it's to a point where, in terms of social impacts, it has impacted a lot of people in terms of their mental health. It's made family environments extremely toxic. It’s meant that friendships have fallen out and some people are finding it quite difficult to find their own support system because of it as well.
The movement had touched a lot of people on all levels, and as you said, political opinions for some people differed and it mattered a lot. One point that we need to get across is that people’s experiences during the time were very different. Just like how you’ve heard different experiences from the ones we’ve read out this time and the ones we read out last time, people’s differences have been so varied and diverse. People all have a very different take on it and people all have very different opinions on it, and the one thing that we can do as individuals, which we have been trying very hard to do in these two episodes, is to respect people’s opinions and respect people’s experiences and accept that people have had these rhetorics and felt these certain ways. At the same time, being in Hong Kong, being there at that time experiencing all these things; it's an experience I can empathise with. These are very much real, raw and numbing emotions frankly.
This episode of ‘Three Hong Kongers On A Sofa: You, Me, We’ concludes our two-part series. We would like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed and submitted to our submissions platform, ‘One Year Ago Today.’ Your personal experiences have proffered valuable insights for us to share with our audience and we hope we have delivered on this appropriately. Finally, we conclude on an emphasis that people will have had different experiences of the movement and possess different opinions and rhetorics. Whilst personal testimonies offer raw, anecdotal and exclusive insights it remains crucial for everyone to respect others despite potential differences.
Editor and Transcriptor: Angela Zhou
Podcast Hosts: Angela Zhou and Aiden Chan
As a blanket disclaimer for the entire ‘Hong Kong: One Year Ago Today’ initiative, we will not be disclosing the identities of any of the contributors to the initiative. We thank everyone who has submitted a piece of their own work and we apologise for not being able to openly accredit you for your contributions.