my thread today for the solidarity with uyghurs rally in hk 
organisers kick off by giving an overview of the kinds of oppression facing Uyghurs: surveillance, restrictions on worship and their way of life eg forced to eat non-halal foods
note that the organisers have used the term east turkestan rather than xinjiang
not welcome here: @YayaToure
in a recording, the president of the uyghur american association @KuzzatAltay thanks HK ppl for standing with uyghurs including his relatives who have been sent to detention camps. says Hkers are not only fighting for themselves but everyone under oppression by CCP
until this year i dare say the only uyghur who ppl in HK may have heard of was @wuerkaixi. now the name of ilham tohti flies.
a student leader now explains how “so-called xinjiang ended up becoming part of the territory of so-called china”
he compares the way in which Han Chinese are sent to Xinjiang to alter the regions demographics to the way 150 mainland Chinese are allowed to gain residency in HK everyday, “by 2047 we may be a minority here.” but caveats that the situation facing uyghurs is kuch graver
people in these masks are leading a chant of “HK independence is the only way out,” rest of the crowd is catching on
veteran pan-dem politician and labour rights activist @ahyanlee say ppl in HK must support the democratic aspirations of ppl anywhere in china. “the treatment of uyghurs reflects the most evil side of this regime,” citing Ilham Tohti’s imprisonment. now referring to NYT reporting
“who the hell needs your vocational re-education?” says @ahyanlee. “if they’re just vocational training facilities shouldn’t ppl be free to come and go?” he’s reading from the evidence presented in documents leaked to the NYT.
“you know how bad it is to have a blue ribbon in your family? now imagine having a Han Chinese person policing you in your home,” he says referring to pro-Beijing ppl in HK.
“hong kong stands with tibetans and uyghurs”
one person hasn’t forgotten the Kazakhs
the speaker now notes how Uyghurs and HK have been trending on twitter meaning the whole world is watching.
you guys earned it.
you guys earned it.
speaker Andy Chan now talking about how the Chinese term for Tibet and “Inner Mongolia” and “Xinjiang” all reflect a China-centric, imperialistic way of describing these places that erases their identity
he says HK ppl have actually been complicit in the CCP’s attempt to smear Tibetans and Uyghurs as extremists by being silent for so long, and how it’s taken so long to even have this first solidarity rally.
...he invokes legendary Taiwanese political activist Cheng Nam-jung who said, “we are a small country but a good country” as he rallies the crowd with talk of HK identity and nationalism.
oh my god it’s the cat meme
#China_is_terrorist is trending IRL
cat meme translation: “it’s east turkestan not xinjiang”
i left bc it’s like an ashtray outside w the pollution. but i’m re-upping sth i wrote about Tibet in March abt how few ppl write or care about it much anymore. could never have guessed ppl in HK would be waving Tibet flags by the end of the year. qz.com/1565178/how-ch…
this cop is wearing a keychain that says “go HK police”
just heard a gunshot or something of some kind on tv. reporters running to footbridge in central where police are now standing. it’s just utter madness when police show up.
ok the tone with which the police are screaming at ppl to stand on the pavement, are they...OK?
a Now TV reporter was directly pepper sprayed by a screaming cop
police arrested some here at the post office
a cop seen making a heart shape to journalists, cute
a heckler just yelled out “your overtime is for you to buy a coffin!” a cop is now saying into the mic “today is winter solstice, happy winter solstice! we are all HKers let’s all put aside our differences!”
“you’re not a HKer” says the crowd
“you’re not a HKer” says the crowd
