Hong Kong Unrest: ‘We Cannot Give Up’

As protests in Hong Kong increasingly escalate into violent clashes, demonstrators, and others reflect on where the movement is headed.
By Tiffany May, Lam Yik Fei and Ezra Cheung

Protesters during a march in Hong Kong early this month.

HONG KONG — Over the past nearly two months, hundreds of thousands of people have braved Hong Kong’s sweltering summer heat in a series of mass rallies against an unpopular bill that has come to symbolize concerns about the encroachment of the mainland Chinese government on their semiautonomous territory.
The city’s beleaguered leader, Carrie Lam, has already suspended the bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China and declared it “dead.”

But she has refused to formally withdraw it or to meet the protesters’ other demands, which include the establishment of an independent commission to investigate police conduct and the right to directly elect the territory’s leader.
Mrs. Lam’s unwavering stance has helped fuel protests that now occur regularly, some of them escalating dramatically. 

In recent weeks, protesters have stormed the city’s legislative offices, clashed with riot police officers at a luxury shopping mall and surrounded the mainland Chinese government’s offices in Hong Kong.
[For the second day in a row, thousands rallied against mob violence and what they call brutality by the police.]
We spoke to protesters and others who have been otherwise caught in the crossfire, to hear about their experiences. 

These are excerpts from their answers, edited for clarity and length:

Henry Fung, a high school student, during a protest in the Sheung Wan neighborhood this month.

Henry Fung, 17
A high schooler and antigovernment protester who believes forceful tactics are needed
I haven’t really protested before, not even in marches, but I feel that if I don’t do something to protect freedoms I ought to have, I may never recover them again. 

We want to be peaceful, but under oppression, we need to resist.
We do what peaceful protesters don’t dare to do. 

Only after we’ve occupied a street or a building do they feel that it’s safe to come out and sit there as well. 

When I walk to the front, I’m scared. 

I prepare myself mentally that I may get hurt and even arrested.
My brother supports me, but he can’t join the protests because of work. 

My father found out because my school called him when I skipped exams on June 12. 

He would say that it’s dangerous, and that protesters who are in front, hitting the police, are rioters, and to tell me not to be like them. 

I feel that that’s unfair to them, but I wouldn’t get angry at him.

Alexandra Wong, who is retired, scuffled with police officers outside the Legislative Council building last month.

Alexandra Wong, 63
Retiree who is often on the front lines of protests, waving a Union Jack flag
I wave the British flag because I want to remind middle-aged and older people to think back on 1997 (when Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control), and what the British people have built for us. The Hong Kong government and Communist regime keep wanting to erode our freedoms, our partial democracy, core values and our rule of law.
I didn’t study politics or social science, but I simply understand how precious democracy is from life experience. 

I lived in Austria for 12 and a half years. 

I’ve lived in mainland China and was born and raised in Hong Kong, and have also been an immigrant in the United States. 

The difference in political systems can alter the people’s sense of happiness so vastly — like heaven and earth!
I need to stand at the front with the students. 

I want to resist till the end with them.

Calvin So, a cook, was walking near a protest in the town of Yuen Long when he was attacked by a mob.

Calvin So, 23
A cook who was in the town of Yuen Long on July 21 when a mob attacked protesters and bystanders
It was 9:45 p.m., and I had gotten off work and was walking along a river on my way home. 

I saw many people in white shirts holding weapons and I said, “Wow! So many people in white.” Those people came over and yelled at me right after I said that. 

One person started to hit me, then a few more. 

Then they all started to hit me as I walked further. 

There must have been around 20 people surrounding me.
These people beat me with things like rattan or hiking sticks. 

I couldn’t exactly see what they were using, but I saw other people holding these weapons. 

I felt frightened and bewildered. 

There was no way I looked like their target. 

I didn’t go to the protest.
No one helped me. 

During the attack, someone threw my mobile phone into the river. 

I just ran away and found a convenience store where I called emergency services. 

Some officers arrived and an ambulance took me to a hospital.

The artist Perry Dino at his Hong Kong studio on Wednesday.

Perry Dino, 53
Artist (real name: Perry Chan) who captures the protests with oil on canvas, even when tear gas is fired
I see my role as a witness to history, not so different from reporters. 

I’m here to stand with the students, rain or shine. 

People can take thousands of photos at a protest, but I only create one painting. 

Photos can be deleted but to destroy my paintings, you will have to burn them.
As I was painting on site, a foreigner asked me to sell him my painting but I told him no. 

I’m worried that if a painting passes through the wrong hands, it could disappear from history. 

I think they need to stay here so that the next generation can see it in an exhibit about Hong Kong’s democracy.
Not many paintings have tear gas as a raw material.

Lam Ching, a camp instructor, in Sheung Wan this month.

Lam Ching, 28
An instructor at an adventure camp who volunteers medical assistance at protests
Too many people had been injured in recent clashes between police and protesters, so I decided to come out, hoping to do my part and provide them with first aid treatment.
I feel so angry. 

It is supposed to be a political issue, but the government has turned it into a conflict between the police and Hong Kong people.
We are all Hong Kong people. 

I really hope the Hong Kong police force can remain professional. 

I genuinely hope they can regain their rationality and self-possession.

So Hiu-Ching, a high school student, at a “Lennon Wall” in the Tai Po district this month.

So Hiu-ching, 16
High school student and peaceful protester
Our society isn’t thrown into chaos because of the protests. 

There are protests because society is in turmoil. 

I really want to ask the government to think about what they did this for. 

So much has happened and so many young people’s hopes have been dashed. 

Can they take responsibility? 

Why can’t you say you will withdraw the bill?
My parents sometimes cry while watching broadcasts of the protests and would tell us, “We are very sorry.” 

I don’t want to repeat this phrase to my children. 

I want to fight for a Hong Kong that we want, and not have to tell generation after generation that we haven’t done enough. 

I’m very happy my parents understand this.
There are still some conflicts though. 

Sometimes they would say things like, “How can you battle with the government? You are doing so much, will it lead to anything?” 

But we cannot give up because we won’t win without even trying.