In a scarred Hong Kong, “beautiful things are gone”.
Remembering what happened in 2019 has become more important than ever.
One year after China imposed the #NSL, we speak to six different Hong Kong people on how they’re keeping the city's memories alive.
widerimage.reuters.com/story/in-a-sca…
Democracy activists charge that those in power are trying to take control of the narrative, and they fear that future generations will hear only the government’s version of events.
📷: Reuters/Lam Yik
It’s not only a battle over the narrative: Since the protests died down last year, the city’s very landscape has changed, leaving familiar places unfamiliar.
📷: Reuters/Lam Yik
"Although social movements are dead in Hong Kong now, the water barriers and the mesh wires are still here to remind us of what happened and the unresolved problems," said Kayla Chan.
"That period was traumatic for everyone in Hong Kong, physically or mentally," Ken Woo said. "You think you didn't do well enough at that time or you blame yourself... If the world doesn’t change, the scars and pain will always be there."
"For those who stay or can't leave, I want them to know we are still here. This office shows them the pro-democracy camp still exists ," District Councilor Jacky Chan said. "What happened in 2019 is very important, something we need to keep remembering..."
Filmmaker Kiwi Chow hopes to finish editing the documentary about the #HongKongProtest later this year.
“The regime wants us to forget. I hope to use my camera to remember,” Chow said. “We are resisting in our memories. We are resisting forgetfulness.”
“We do not want to remember, yet do not dare to forget. People do many things on the side to protect our collective memory,” said journalist Jade Chung, who contributed to “Road to Hong Kong,” a book about the protests.
Chickeeduck owner @chowsiulung said he wants his shop to become a place of hope.
“We want to tell people that we still have free space,” he said. “It’s because we see that they might change history.”
People who want a democratic future for the city are regrouping behind an invisible front line that is harder to disrupt with tear gas and rubber bullets. They are trying to preserve the memory of what happened in #HongKongProtests.
Video by @hongyungyo.
reut.rs/3jpPyCo
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