“Glory to Hong Kong”: Protest anthem becomes new rallying cry for freedom in fight against erosion of democracy

Demonstrators and citizens gather in shopping malls to belt out anonymously written song denouncing tyranny
By Colin Drury

Hong Kong citizens sing protest karaoke at a city shopping mall 

It is a fight against the threat of oppression that has seen months of violence, transport shutdowns and mass demonstrations.
Now pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong are hoping a new – and somewhat unorthodox – tactic will help win the fight against the perceived erosion of rights in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Mass singalongs.
Thousands of citizens have spent three nights straight gathering peacefully in the city’s largest shopping centre to belt out a new protest anthem, “Glory to Hong Kong”.
The anonymously penned song celebrates the island territory’s much-cherished freedoms and vows its people will not surrender to tyranny.
Singing demonstrators, including families, students and senior citizens, have spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday crowded across every single floor of the New Town Plaza bursting into chorus, while local media report such outbreaks of song have also occurred at four other city shopping centres.





Police have been absent and the karaoke-style protests dispersed peacefully, the AP news agency reported.
Hong Kong’s long summer of protests was initially sparked in opposition to a bill which would have made it easier to extradite people to China – essentially allowing the Chinese government to target political opponents in the city.
But the demonstrations have since widened to demand an end to the ongoing erosion of the territory’s political freedoms – enshrined under the One Country Two Systems principle.
In particular, activists are concerned by Beijing’s growing influence over the city’s government, police, education system and media, and their demands now include calls for direct elections in the city and police accountability.
A mass new demonstration has been set for Sunday – although questions over whether it will go ahead have now been raised after police said the proposed route was banned.
Coordinator Bonnie Leung said authorities had told organisers, the Civil Human Rights Front, the protest march would not be allowed because it passed too close to police headquarters, government offices and several subway stations.
She said: “We create a safe zone for people to protest. Our marches are Hong Kong people giving a chance to the government to end the crisis peacefully but, now, they have closed the valve to release public anger. It’s like declaring war to peaceful protesters.”
She added she believed authorities were trying to provoke protesters to carry out illegal gatherings in an attempt to find an excuse to crack down and arrest people.

Hong Kong - China (1- 0)

Too little, too late: Carrie Lam to withdraw China extradition bill, but will it stop the protests?

BY RAMY INOCENCIO


Hong Kong — The embattled leader of Hong Kong announced Wednesday that she was withdrawing a massively controversial extradition bill that would have given Beijing the power to spirit people away into China's opaque legal system. 

It's the bill that sparked the huge anti-government protests, which are now in their third month. 

But abandoning it at this stage appeared unlikely to quash the unrest.
It was a huge U-turn from Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam; the Beijing-appointed leader of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory had previously said there was no room for compromise.
But protesters weren't celebrating the reversal on Wednesday. 

They called it too little, too late. 

Withdrawing the extradition bill is only one of five demands being made by the leaders of the pro-democracy movement.
"I'm glad it's finally done, but it's not sufficient," protest organizer Bonnie Leung told CBS News on Wednesday. 

"Five demands, not one less," she said.
They also want an independent inquiry into police brutality. 

Jarring images of Hong Kong police beating and pepper spraying terrified people in a subway, believed, but not confirmed to be protesters, have galvanized those calls.
The anti-government protests are now in their 14th week, and that may be one of the biggest reasons for Lam's reversal. 

Millions of people have hit the streets since June 9, demanding she revoke the bill.

The protests have become more violent. 

Extreme members of the movement have assaulted government offices in the city with firebombs, and others jammed the roads and rail links to the airport to gain international attention.
October 1 also looms large on the horizon; this year is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. 

Every five years there is a massive military celebration in Beijing to mark the occasion.
China's Communist Party doesn't want anything to tarnish that day in the eyes of the world. 

Lam's climb-down could be an attempt to save face before Hong Kong's crisis tarnishes it even more.
Earlier this week, there was an embarrassing leaked audio of Lam admitting she would resign if she could. 

The implication was that she is firmly controlled by Beijing, something many Hong Kongers were already convinced of.Bonnie Leung, vice convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), is seen during an interview in Hong Kong, August 20, 2019.

The day after the audio was leaked to the Reuters news agency, she said she never tendered her resignation, and people came to distrust her even more.
"If an olive branch is given (by the Hong Kong government) then we will discuss openly with them," Leung told CBS News.
The protesters are also demanding that Lam resign.
"It would be good because she's hated. I don't like hating anyone, but she was lying from the (leaked) audio tape" that was leaked to Reuters, Leung said. 

She vowed that even if the government's decision to meet one of the demands calms the protests, she and the other leaders of the movement won't pack it in.
"If people decide it's enough then they will go home. It's the choice of the people," Leung said. 

"The movement may die down a bit. People may calm down, but we will still fight for universal suffrage."
That is another key demand by the protesters; to elect their own leader directly in an election where every citizen gets a vote. 

Right now, that power belongs to Beijing.