I'm a Hong Konger amidst the protests here. AMA!

Are you at risk of losing your job or have you been able to hide your identity?

I actually don't have a job yet lol. I'm still in school, however during peaceful marches I doubt police was using facial recognition.

What is the end game of the protests?

Are hong kongers looking for independence from China, or continued autonomy, or something else?

Might be hard to tell, but is there support amongst the general population on the mainland for Hong Kong or democracy?

Honestly, I have no idea how this will turn out. I think that there are a few options.

1. Hong Kongers succeed and we meet the five demands. The five demands are: full withdrawal of the extradition bill, the Chief Executive must resign, the government must not classify the protests as "riots", there must be a full independent investigation into the police, and everyone arrested or detained because of participation of the protests must be unconditionally be freed.
2. Police win and protesters just start getting into smaller numbers until no protesters are left.
3. China sends in military. (highly unlikely in my opinion.)

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A portion of protesters are looking for independence from China, some people just want the five demands and keep the one country two systems policy.

Since China is heavily restricted on their exposure to media, China blasts them with propaganda to make protesters seem bad. There isn't much support because of China, but in the mainland I'm sure people really know whats happening.

What have you seen on the mobilization of the Chinese military? Do you have safe places you can go if China becomes aggressive or murderous?

I don't live anywhere near the border so personally I haven't seen anything. The mobilization scares us all because China is being China, but I doubt a June 4 1998 will happen again. I was born here and I've lived here all my life, so I don't really want to move but, because of family in Canada, I could move to Canada. I could also move to Taiwan.

EDIT: Sorry I meant June 4 1989, not 1998.

Have you thought of all dressing up as winnie the Pooh while waving American flags singing the US national anthem while a group of people in a large tank costume chase you down?

We need more people like you.

Hi. Is there anything we who live really far away and have no money can do to help out?

Well, if you're in certain places you could attend peace marches that show support for HK. You could also try to design posters and send them to certain people to really raise awareness. Sorry if this doesn't really make sense though.

Can you expand on the posters bit? Who needs poster design? Who should these be sent to?

I think they mean you could make digital media and post that to social media to raise awareness.

Yeah, I think you're right.

That's essentially what I mean. If we recieve multiple art styles, it really represents global support for our cause. Thank you guys!

How much military presence is amassing at the border? What do you think will happen with it? Are you scared of a Tiannamen 2.0?

I'm not sure as of figures for the military gathering, but I'm pretty sure that it's for intimidation, and for deploying Chinese police to help the HKPF. I am scared of a Tiannamen 2 but in my opinion that is highly unlikely.

Could you better explain exactly what has led to all of this?

I believe that it all started when a murder happened in Taiwan and the perpetrator fled to Hong Kong. Taiwan then wanted Hong Kong to sign an extradition bill so Taiwan authorities can retrieve the criminal. However, China wanted to butt in and wanted Hong Kong to sign an extradition bill if they sign one with Taiwan. Since China practically controls the government here, the Chief Executive proposed this bill to LegCo, the Legislative Council. Obviously it was refused, but then the Chief Executive kept pushing as well with some pro-China politicians. This started peaceful protests against said extradition bill because if China can grab who they want from Hong Kong, that basically makes Hong Kong part of China's extreme media censorship and retraction of freedom of speech and expression. After the first few marches, university students and other people protested near LegCo, then police was deployed and down goes the spiral. I probably didn't explain it the best so feel free to read some articles.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3003381/gruesome-taiwan-murder-lies-behind-hong-kong-leader-carrie

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/world/asia/hong-kong-murder-taiwan-extradition.html

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3014695/sea-black-hong-kong-will-march-against-suspended

What do you think the US's role in the support of Hong Kong should be? Has our response been too weak, in your opinion?

No offence, but I personally think that Trump isn't really taking us seriously. I think the US should threaten or propose more sanctions against China. I've heard all about people around the world really eager to help but have no ways to, so I think it's more of Trump's personal problem by saying " I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?"

Is there anything Westerners could do to help beside spreading the word of what is going on?

I think that if you live in a certain place you could potentially attend peace marches showing support, or organize a small march if you're brave enough and willing to. You could also raise concern to local politicians or send letters to politicians telling them to support HK and the entire movement. Sorry if this doesn't really mean anything to you, this is my first AMA.

Does the Chinese military build up on the border frighten you?

The Chinese military has always been a threat to us anyways, but the build up to me is specifically rather terrifying. However, I don't think that this will be a repeat of June 4 1989 due to the multiple warnings and just how China is linked in with the world.

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Obviously on both sides there are extremists that cause violence. But only a small fraction of people threw Molotov cocktails towards the police. I think that, considering the small fraction of violent rioters, 40-60% of violence is fake, caused by undercover police, triads, and Chinese police.

Are people prepared for the worst and do they have any kind of escape strategy in the Chinese launch military style attacks against protesters ?

I personally highly doubt that China will send military into Hong Kong for their purposes, but people have definitely moved assets and funds to other countries such as Taiwan or the US. A small portion of my funds have been moved to Taiwan should anything happen. People are pretty much ready for anything.

Hi mate, thanks very much for doing this AMA. Fellow Hong Konger here but have moved to london and live here full time. Just wanna say fully support the peaceful protests and it's amazing what you guys have achieved. Seeing the images of the 2 million people March was breathtaking. My questions to you:

1. The standard of living and economic equality gap is pretty large in HK. The government is not doing a huge amount to improve it. Do you think this fact is part of the reason why protests are so emotive, and what is the best way to address this moving forward?

2. Carrie Lam and a large number of HK politicians have been almost non existent since the protests started, if she did resign is there anyone in HK you would stand behind? What does the next leader have to do to impress you.

3. In regards to point number 5 in the demands. Whilst the HK police have been pretty awful, there are some extremist protesters who have caused real harm. Building vandalism, petrol bombs, violence (in the extreme forms) etc, if individual members of the police are to be held accountable for their acts of brutality, should the protesters not be too?

Thanks again, good luck in the coming months!

1. The main focus of the protests are the five demands, and some argue for independence from China as well. However, I'm sure some protesters fight for just a better place to live here. The disparity is quite big, but this probably isn't the reason why the protests are so emotive. I think it's bursting with emotion and passion because the Hong Kong people are fed up of being oppressed.
2. If Carrie Lam did resign, then we don't know who will be Chief Executive next. Honestly, I don't really know the Hong Kong politicians, so I don't know who to stand behind.
3. The fifth point in the demands is to free anyone arrested because of protests. The HKPF has been terrible and yes, I don't at all deny the fact that some protesters caused violence and harm. However, people need to keep in mind that this is only a small portion of the protesters. However, there is evidence that undercover police dressed up as protesters hurled petrol bombs to make it seem like protesters caused extreme violence. Real protesters should definitely be held accountable for their actions but if caught, there should be a less harsh sentence.

This is all just in my opinion.

I read some of you want to achieve independent, are they serious?

it's impossible, and would makes PRC act tougher.

Yes, a part of protesters want independence from China. I personally want independence but that would make our lives tougher.

The news here is saying the 'Chinese paramilitary' is surrounding HK- WTH is that?

Well, not exactly surrounding, just presence on the border. The Chinese paramilitary has mobilized near the border, which raises concerns of another June 4 1998. However, I think it's somewhat of a scare tactic against the protesters.

What do you think about the incident where a mainland Chinese journalist was tied up in the airport and shamed and beaten by the angry protestors until he became unconscious? Later the protestors tried to block the ambulance and prevent him from receiving any medical service. Edit: video link for those who are unaware: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktoVYVdkiD0

There are extremely violent people on both sides; I don't deny that. However people must keep in mind that this doesn't represent the community as a whole; there's always gonna be anomalies. I disagree with extreme violence.

We've seen pictures and video of people waving American flags and signing the American National Anthem. How widespread is this?

I have never seen pictures or videos of this actually, so I'm completely unaware of this. I reckon it's not that widespread.

What are you fighting for? Isn't Hong Kong part of China? Why do you believe in a 2 - system country?

Protesters are fighting for 2 things mainly; the 5 demands, and independence from China. However, not all protesters fight for independence, but still a large portion. Hong Kong is indeed part of China, but we have a one country, 2 system policy. This essentially means yes we are part of China but we are significantly different. I believe in this because it proves how oppressive China is, and how we having another system can speak out and voice our opinions.