The journal / Visions of Asia

Category: Protests

Hongkongers queue up in Mongkok (Tung Choi street) after midnight to make sure to purchase one copy of Apple Daily.

Hong Kong: The Fall of The Apple

When the National Security law was implemented about one year ago, in 2020, the HK government kept repeating that its scope was limited and those concerned were few. One year later, it seems the scope is ever-expanding and the tentaculous reach of this law proved itself once more when the tabloid “Apple Daily” was forced […]

Hong Kong, 11 Jul 2020 A volunteer helps an elector to handle the electronic vote system at the Whampoa booth for the pan-democrat primaries. The Hong Kong Governement denounced these as a "violation" of the National Security Law, and the police raided the offices of the firm organizing the vote on the evening prior to the vote, thus delaying its start to 12.00 noon.

Hong Kong: the big lockup

We took the habit since a few months now, of waking up every morning and checking our social media to know who was arrested this time. This week, we woke up to a big lockup of opposition activists in one fell swoop: 53 members of the pan-democrat camp were arrested and accused of plotting to… […]

Grandma Wong and her British flag

Grandma wong : from the pan into the fire?

Grandma Wong is a well-known figure of the Hong Kong protests. With her full name Alexandra Wong, she has often been seen in 2019 at the forefront of protests with a British flag.Born in 1956, and aged 64, the lady (who does not have children and is thus not a grandmother) moved to Shenzhen because […]

A deserted battlefield strewn with umbrellas

Death by a thousand cuts for hong kong

After passing the National Security Law, on July 1st, China set out to radically transform the political landscape of Hong Kong. Although many hailed the law as the death knell for Hong Kong, it appears today that it was only the prelude and the mechanism by which to inflict “death by a thousand cuts” for […]

Fire dying out

Fiery night in Mongkok

On 24 May 2020, the day started with a failed attempt to mobilize protesters against the national anthem bill. This attempt was foiled by a huge police deployment in Causeway Bay and Admiralty and mass arrests. Despite this, protesters managed nevertheless to create a fiery night in Mongkok. Difficult mobilization New police tactics at work […]

Staring contest between riot police and an old lady

Hong Kong: in the eye of the tiger

The enactment of a national security law directly by China has placed Hong Kong in the eye of the tiger. Namely, Beijing has now direct control over freedom of expression and activities in what was once an autonomous city. As a direct consequence of this takeover by China, the July 1st protests (which generally was […]

A young man holds a flickering light

A flickering light

Hong Kong had a tradition of commemorating the Tienanmen massacre every year on 4th June. This year, the Hong Kong government refused a letter of no objection to hold the protest in Victoria Park. Despite this, hundreds of protesters flooded the park, entering to hold their traditional vigil, hence keeping a flickering light alive for […]

A policeman threatens a district councilor with a finger on trigger

In the line of fire

When China announced its intention of bypassing the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (its mini-parliament) to impose a national security law, everybody understood HK was being in the line of fire. It so happened, that it was not only the city that was in the line of fire over the week-end, but also some of […]

Journalists during a stop and search

Hong Kong protests resume… and freedom of speech suffers further

After a long lull for cause of coronavirus fears, last week-end the Hong Kong protests resumed, albeit in a very subdued form. Triggered by a coup de force in the Legco on Friday, protesters responded somewhat timidly to the call to action. While protesters played rather the role of the small nuisance in Mongkok, the […]

A protester poses before a makeshift memorial at Prince Edward station.

The “8 31 attacks” and the culture of outrage

Since the beginning of 2020, the Hong Kong protests have focused on the “8 31 attacks” and the culture of outrage that is becoming a focal point of protesters. It did not help that police always reacts with overwhelming force and irritation to these “commemorations”. What are the “8 31 attacks”? On August 31, 2019, […]