Because inmates are prevented from using the internet, supporters like Ruby update them on news of the outside world through mailed printouts of news clips, memes, and YouTube video transcripts. While public expressions of dissent have dwindled in Hong Kong, some residents continue to support the city’s jailed protestors through small-scale online initiatives. By the end of 2022, 522 of them remained behind bars. In 2021 alone, 985 people were put into custody for charges related to the protests, including unlawful assembly, rioting, and endangering national security. In 2020, the Chinese government quashed the movement by imposing a national security law that gave authorities expansive new powers to crack down on political opposition. More than 10,000 people have been arrested and at least 2,900 charged for their roles in the 2019 Hong Kong protests, which first erupted in June over a government extradition bill and later morphed into a broader movement fighting for democratic freedoms. “So that they know that there are many of us still supporting them.” “I hope can keep up with what’s happening outside,” Ruby, who only gave her first name to avoid legal risks, told Rest of World. The 32-year-old nurse also shares the letters on Instagram, as templates for others who write to them. Every week, Ruby scans social media sites for fun stories and gossip, screenshots the pages, and prints them out on A5-sized papers to send to fellow Hong Kongers jailed for their involvement in the 2019 protests.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |