[News] 'Liberate Hong Kong': The slogan that will land you in jail

[Mr.Talha]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58009605

 

 

It was one of the defining phrases of the Hong Kong protest movement. Now, it has landed one man in jail for nine years.

Back in 2019, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" was an ubiquitous slogan in the city, chanted by tens of thousands as they took to the streets in pro-democracy demonstrations.

But this week a man was convicted partly because he was carrying a flag emblazoned with the phrase.

Activists say the landmark ruling marks "the beginning of the end" for freedom of expression in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's year under China's controversial law

Where did the slogan come from?
The eight-character phrase was first used by Hong Kong politician Edward Leung back in 2016, when he ran for a by-election and used it as a campaign slogan.

At the time he was one of the leaders of Hong Kong Indigenous, a political party that advocates for independence for the city.

Leung said the slogan "represents the people who believe in freedom, embrace freedom, and are willing to fight for freedom with their blood and sweat", according to the South China Morning Post.

It did not gain traction back then. Polls consistently indicated that the majority of Hongkongers did not favour independence from the mainland.

But it was a different story three years later as the pro-democracy protests erupted and anger at the Hong Kong government grew.

The phrase was frequently chanted at rallies, with many waving or wearing black flags, signs and T-shirts with the slogan printed in white Chinese and English lettering.

As early as 2016, Hong Kong authorities had objected to the phrase, with chief executive Carrie Lam saying at the time that it "challenges national sovereignty" and threatened China's "one country two systems" model in governing Hong Kong.

But it wasn't until 30 June 2020 that China's controversial and broadly-worded national security law came into effect in Hong Kong.

Among other things, the law bans anything considered as "crimes of secession and subversion" - effectively clamping down on protest slogans.

Just a day later - on the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British to Chinese rule - Tong Ying-kit drove a motorcycle into a group of police officers while carrying a flag emblazoned with the "Liberate Hong Kong" slogan.

The Hong Kong government later said the slogan connoted "Hong Kong independence" and warned people not to defy the national security law.