
In Hong Kong, one protester pulls off his mask and defines a movement - bkohlmann
https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-hong-kong-unmasked-protester-identity-dissent-20190706-story.html
======
bkohlmann
I’ve been thinking about this man all night. He, alone among his peers, took
an action with foreseeable and negative personal consequences. Whether
spontaneous or planned, he made a choice that may well define the rest of his
life, for good or ill.

I took the time to reflect on my own weekend, celebrating America’s
independence against different totalitarian rule. I spent it with family,
safe, free, and relaxed. I couldn’t help but wonder if i would have the
fortitude of this man, even basking in the freedoms I now, blithely, take for
granted. Base rates for humans show that amidst totalitarian regimes, most
choose silence and going with the flow. While i like to imagine otherwise, I
am a product of my culture - and self-protective.

Yet, this man, on one evening, said “here I am. And this is who I am.”

Knowing nothing else about him, he is a hero.

~~~
TomMckenny
It is a magnificent thing to see people defend their civil rights. And it is
the rational ting too: given the implications of the extradition bill, a few
days on the street will seem a tiny price to pay.

And indeed, given ever growing intrusion into HK by the main land and ever
increasing biometric surveillance technology, once on film, I doubt the
surgical masks will provide anonymity for all the decades these folks will
live.

~~~
T-A
> a few days on the street will seem a tiny price to pay

From the article: "He could face up to 10 years in prison, or even abduction
and secret detention in China, as has happened to others in Hong Kong."

------
git-pull
It's hard to draw broad strokes about this. But I really really deeply like
HK.

One thing about Hong Kong that's a lot to take in is how western-friendly the
culture is. I think there was a western news channel playing while I was on
the MTR last time.

I am guessing some may find the rallies annoying. They may view them as
hooligans, but even the cynical still are happy with HK being HK.

To understand more about HK system of government, check out the basic law:
[https://www.basiclaw.gov.hk/en/facts/index.html](https://www.basiclaw.gov.hk/en/facts/index.html),
[https://www.basiclaw.gov.hk/en/basiclawtext/index.html](https://www.basiclaw.gov.hk/en/basiclawtext/index.html).
This effectively serves as the constitution of HK.

And it's a weird thing: Because it's effectively a client state constitution.
heh. They have their own judiciary, they have their own case law, but the
people of HK cannot amend their constitution.

P.S. I haven't read the latest part of the extradition law they're trying to
pass (anyone have it?)

~~~
calyth2018
This is an older version of the bill:
[https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr18-19/english/bills/brief/b201903...](https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr18-19/english/bills/brief/b201903291_brf.pdf)

Before they have amended it, conceding to concerns and up the minimum
requirement for an offence to be extradictable from 3 years to 7 years.

SCMP has an infographic comparing the existing process with the proposed one:

[https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/hong-
kong/arti...](https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/hong-
kong/article/3013512/hong-kong-extradition/index.html)

> One thing about Hong Kong that's a lot to take in is how western-friendly
> the culture is.

They might be friendly, but often they don't understand it fully. Democracy
isn't a silver-bullet that would cure all of Hong Kong's ills. And they're apt
to label every change to be an extension of Beijing's reach.

For example, the change in school curriculum. No doubt that some of the
content in there is objectionable to me. However, the often thrown around
accusation is that singing the national anthem amounts to brainwashing. After
emigrating in '95, I sang O Canada during the weekly assembly at school. I'm
sure the Star-Spangled Banner is sung at American schools. I don't think a lot
of them are aware of that.

Another example would be the customs procedures for the high-speed train in
HK, in which they have harangued over and over. Canadian airports suffer from
the exactly the same problem - US CBP operates at any Canadian airport. I did
raise my concerns with my MP, and she did have an interesting argument. If a
Canadian was to be detained, at least it would be far easier to provide
support than if they flew into US, and then get detained at the US airport.

Or the case where the HKSAR government moving VJ day to line up with the
mainland's VJ day date. Accusations of Beijing trying to erase history
immediately flew. Honestly, under the Colonial system, they never taught us
anything about that, or about remembrance day (I was there up til Grade 6). In
Canada, they have no problems teaching students about it at Grade 6. I didn't
even realize the scope of Canadian involvement until I went to the Canadian
War Museum.

There is far more background context than a single article could put forth.
But it's not hard to see HKers cling to the colonial past, when Hong Kong was
economically bigger then, and mainlanders would bend over backwards if a
visiting Hong Konger waves around HKD. Now the mainland economy and power is
much bigger than Hong Kong, and to be fair, their increase meddling is really
amping up anxieties. But it's so easy to focus those anxieties, and forget
that the Colonial government shares blame for lots of the current issues
plaguing daily lives there.

------
spectramax
What praise do I give to this oppression (China's influence over HK) where
people, even a single person out of many thousands, are terrified of revealing
their identity in a protest?

It seems unpopular on HN, but there is something that westerners are missing
that makes the phrase "Boycott China" sound racist, ignorant and preposterous.
Why is it so "wrong" to properly, sternly and unapologetically criticizing
China? Even saying things like "I don't support buying Chinese goods" sound
insane on HN. WHY!? Why should people praise Chinese economic progress,
lifting middle class and giving a middle finger to IP, Shenzhen philosophy of
quick business, etc. at the cost of loss of liberty and freedom, and
democracy?

~~~
_cs2017_
The hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters had no masks. The small group
who vandalized the Legislative Council wore masks because they knew they were
breaking HK laws. Indeed, they would be arrested and charged for such actions
in any country, including colonial HK, UK, or US.

While there are plenty of reasons you may dislike the behavior of the Chinese
government, I don't think this is one of them.

On another note, I'm not sure why you would admire one of the very few violent
extremists who embarrassed the otherwise peaceful HK democracy movement. Just
because an extremist is willing to risk jail sentence by revealing his face,
he becomes a hero?

~~~
spectramax
Accordingly to this logic, Gandhi was an extremist for breaking British law.

------
ntdb
Googling this man's name (Brian Leung Kai-ping) reveals a number of articles
suggesting that he fled to the United States immediately after this event.
However, I can't tell whether any of the web sites reporting this news are
trustworthy. When I first read these reports I immediately dismissed him and
his comments to the LA Times but now I wonder if the story of his flight is
propaganda intended to negate his courage.

~~~
fma
The most notable article I guess is from South China Morning Post
([https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-
kong/politics/article/3017530...](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-
kong/politics/article/3017530/only-unmasked-protester-hong-kong-legco-
takeover-has-fled)) and they cite 'a source'.

Also in their article, there are clearly many others in the photographs
without masks. So I think his impromptu speech is more important than taking
off his mask, but lots of articles cite removal of his mask..

Since this organization has no leader, it would benefit the opposition to
paint a leader out of thin air and show faults in him.

------
tsjq
that one protester is now "too visible to arrest". China will "take care" of
him when the dust settles down.

------
Mikeb85
Hong Kong reminds me a lot of Ukraine. They both want to be 'modern',
'western' and 'special', rejecting the 'backwards' ways of their imperial
leaders. Unfortunately, their economic success was/is wholly dependant on said
leaders, and they're shooting themselves in the foot by trying to break away.

No one in the west truly gives a shit about HK or Ukraine. We give them lip-
service, but no one will go to war over it. We egg them on to stick it to
China/Russia, and they get fucked.

The fact is, Hong Kong's entire success is due to the fact it was an entry
point to doing business with China. Protesters have jeopardized that
arrangement, Hong Kong will never see the same level of economic success
(relative to China) again. Much like Ukraine which, without Russia as a
partner, is now one of the poorest countries in Europe with a GDP per capita
half that of Belarus', and a quarter of Russia's.

Hong Kongers want to be special, but they're killing the only thing which
allowed them to be successful. After these protests simmer down, the west will
forget about them again, having never done anything for them in the first
place, and they'll be worse off.

~~~
qnsi
>Ukraine which, without Russia as a partner, is now one of the poorest
countries in Europe with a GDP per capita half that of Belarus', and a quarter
of Russia's.

It was like this before the war. This was a big chance for Ukraine, to
integrate with EU and trade with EU mainly not with Russia. Sadly Russian
aggression changed that

~~~
Mikeb85
The EU was never going to accept Ukraine as a member and never will, and they
did reduce trade restrictions, but EU states don't want Ukrainian products. EU
farmers already produce too much food, EU states won't eat Ukrainian
foodstuffs since Slavic tastes are so different. The EU also doesn't want any
more workers immigrating to richer states.

Also, Ukraine tried rapprochement with the EU after the Orange Revolution, but
again, the west only wanted to use them to get at Russia, not to see them
successful.

As for Ukraine's economic success, it's always been tied to Russia, and the
successive revolutions have not been good for it. That's why every election
after failed Euro-optimist governments can't deliver, Ukraine elects a
pragmatic President.

------
neonate
[http://archive.is/99QgE](http://archive.is/99QgE)

------
dehrmann
I wonder if he'll be this generation's Tank Man. Ironically, the situations
couldn't be more different.

~~~
kaycebasques
I can think of lots of scenarios in which the situations are more different.
Not sure what you mean by that.

------
taobility
I am wondering what's the consequence if any American destroy the Capitol
Building in Washington, will he be shoot before he crush into the building?

