Hongkongers, we shall give our lives to freedom.
In 2019, Hong Kong protestors walked through the flames of the war raging across the length and breadth of the city. Yet, our people did not yield to the firearms. In 2020, the regime enacted draconian laws on the pretext of national security, putting the butcher's knife against Hongkongers’ throat. In just a few weeks time, over 20 Hongkongers, including Tony Chung Hon-lam, Jimmy Lai Chee-Ying, Royston Chow Tat-kuen, Ian Lai Yiu-yan, Andy Li, Wilson Li Chung-chak, Agnes Chow Ting, have become the first batch of arrested persons under the National Security Law. Students were arrested, a newspaper office was raided, an election was turned into a mere figurehead, a professor was dismissed - all of these are merely the prologue to a long gloomy night. It seems that the future of this city can only get ever duller.
We might be weak confronting the totalitarian party-state, but we are not alone.
Taiwan and South Korea are our predecessors in the quest for freedom. In 1947, the February 28 Massacre befell the press in Taiwan. Min Bao and at least 22 newspaper offices were seized and their publications were discontinued. The Chiang Regime introduced Martial Law and implemented a ban on newspapers. In 1980, just half a year after the May 18 Democratic Uprising, Chun Doo-hwan enacted The Basic Press Act, repealing 172 periodicals and forcefully merging seven news agencies into one. Having been through twists and turns, both of our predecessors have travelled so far on the road to democracy.
On the international field, we have the free world walking with us. The Hong Kong issue has been transforming global geopolitics. The trend of enforcing containment against totalitarianism is beyond doubt. On top of that, what we should be most uplifted by is the fact that every single person who cherishes democracy and freedom is voicing out for us in their positions.
We are now writing a new chapter in history. The time has put our generation on a cross-road. Shall we stand tall under the call of the times, or perish in silence? Hongkongers are pronouncing our choices with actions for posterity. "Let walls shut my mouth. Let prison bars divide my sky. As long as my heart keeps pounding, the ebb and flow of my blood will go on." Today, we are still hopeful as millions of Hongkongers have already been awakened by the horn of the resistance. Even the most stringent cage cannot imprison a soul yearning for freedom. With the same courage we have when we are standing against the bullets with umbrellas, we shall continue to ride with the wind and break through the waves.
The Hong Kong University Students’ Union shall continue to stand with Hongkongers. Hannah Arendt once wrote, “that even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination might well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and their works, will kindle.” Through blood, toil, tears and sweat, we will strive on. Out of our faith in one another, our faith in this city named Hong Kong, we will dedicate our lives to the pursuit of freedom in this city. However difficult it may be, Hongkongers will eventually restore our city.
The Hong Kong University Students’ Union
August 14, 2020
(Above is the original statement from the Union.
Apple Daily consulted professional legal advice before publication. After discussion, the Union approves of the redacted version for publication.)
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