Matthew Rodier - When I Go Dreaming: 103 Days in the Hong Kong Protests of 2019

Copyright 2020 by Matthew Rodier

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner.

May 2020

Published by Matthew Rodier

www.matthewrodierphotography.com

This book is dedicated to the journalists and journalism students of Hong Kong.

Introduction

On March 29, 2019 Hong Kongs Legislative Council published a bill to allow for the extradition of individuals in Hong Kong who had been charged with a crime to mainland China and Taiwan, two regions where Hong Kong did not have extradition treaties. The proposal of this bill led to mass protests throughout Hong Kong calling for its withdrawal, which would come to be known as the anti-extradition, or anti-elab protests. As these protests progressed and grew in strength the bill was eventually withdrawn, but by then the movement had come to focus on police brutality during the anti-extradition protests and the right of the people of Hong Kong to express themselves through peacefully assembly. Protesters rekindled the calls for democracy in Hong Kong that have existed for over a decade, growing in popularity during the 2014 protests known as the Umbrella Revolution and gaining significant momentum in 2019, emboldened by a vastly more aggressive and violent police response than had occurred during previous protests.

The Hong Kong protesters have five core demands: (1) Full withdrawal of the Extradition Bill (2) Retraction of the protests being characterized as riots (3) Amnesty for arrested protesters (4) An independent investigation into police conduct during the protests (5) Universal suffrage.

During these protests there has been: over 8,000 arrests made, calls from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International for an investigation into human rights violations committed by the Hong Kong Police, international attention from both the public and government leaders throughout the world, the passing of a bill by the United States government requiring sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses in Hong Kong and authorizing a yearly review by the United States of Hong Kongs autonomous status, the temporary seizure of two major universities in Hong Kong by the protesters, widely publicized controversies involving the NBA and other large private organizations, protests throughout the world in solidarity with the Hong Kong protesters, and a re-evaluation and in some cases a shift of the relationship of nations with the Chinese government.

In May 2020, the Peoples Republic of Chinas National Peoples Congress imposed a far reaching national security law which will punish broadly defined acts of subversion, secession, and terrorism and enable the establishment of secret police in Hong Kong by the Chinese government.

The title refers to a euphemism that Hong Kongers use to describe going to protest, one of the many terms adopted to represent protest activity in public speeches and on the internet in an attempt to avoid persecution.

The following images are the result of the days that I spent in Hong Kong between August and December 16, 2019.

In the Mong Kok area of Hong Kong a police officer kneels on the back of a young man that has been thrown to the ground while another officer shouts at him. November 17, 2019

A young protester marches down Nathan Road during a massive pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong. The wrench he is carrying is commonly used by protesters to deconstruct road barriers so that they can be zip tied together as barricades to hold off police advances. October 12, 2019

Two young people are arrested during the Save Poly U protests, which were staged as an attempt to free protesters surrounded by police on a local university campus during the Siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. November 18, 2019

Protesters at Hong Kong Polytechnic University brace for impact from tear gas rounds, less lethal projectiles, and police water cannons with umbrellas, homemade shields and protective gear and are prepared to respond with Molotov cocktails. November 17, 2019

A young man and woman hold hands as they avoid Hong Kong Police and depart from a protest in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Hong Kong. October 27, 2019

A police officer carrying a rifle uses a fire extinguisher to put out a small fire at the entrance of an apartment building in Yau Ma Tei during the Save PolyU protests. November 18, 2019

A young girl looks out at a crowd of thousands of protesters on Hennessy Road while her father carries her through Central District. October 6, 2019

A crime scene at Cityplaza Mall in the Tai Koo District has been taped off by police but abandoned after a short investigation. Four people were stabbed by a man who yelled, Hong Kong is China. District Councilor Andrew Chiu Ka-yin had half of his ear bitten off when attempting to stop the attacker, who was beaten by bystanders and later arrested at the hospital. November 3, 2019