I am a 2x yo HK protester. I participated in most of the assemblies for the past two months. I suffered from tear gas many times and almost got hit by the police. AMA.

What’s something about the HK protests that you don’t see making international news that definitely should be talked about?

One thing that I didn't see much foreign news been reporting is that many of the protesters (especially the young ones) were putting all their financial resources in the movement, to the extent where they can't even buy food for themselves.

One of my friend had used up all his entire savings to buy protection masks and goggles and donate them to protesters.

and yet a lot of pro China media said we receive money from the CIA for every protest. That would be great for those kids, at least they won't have to eat damn dry crackers and bread for dinner. But we all know it's never the truth.

Do you believe this will reach the point that Chinese troops will enter HK trying to end the protests?

I believe there are already Chinese troops pretending to be one of the polices during the protests. A lot of signs had shown that.

but as for whether the China Gov would officially enter HK, I don't think this will happen in short, because HK is still the largest financial market for China to earn foreign currencies. If the protests is going to be ended in this way, I don't think any of the country will be confident to make investment in HK, which will heavily harm China itself as well.

We will still be aware of that through, because we have seen way to many to know how horrible and terrifying our enemy is.

What assistance can someone in the US give to support your movement?

Spread the news, let everyone know what's happening in Hong Kong.

Support the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act to punish those governors who owned properties in any kind of assets in US. (Which most of the pro China councilors and government officers will be affected, how ironic is that :o))

If there is an protest raised by HK people in your city, support them.

Boycott China.

Even a little cheer up meant a lot to us.

I already wasn't planning on seeing Mulan(live-action remakes of animated classics are tasteless), but now I'll be actively bothering my friends to not see it.

Good one.

Just wanna add one more thing: the main actress is still gaining popularity even Chinese people knew she is an AMERICAN citizen.

Boycotting china will be difficult in the U.S.

You almost can't find a single product that doesn't say "made in China".

Same for I guess most of the places in the world, but there must be something everyone could do to against China's invasion.

Here in Hong Kong we boycotted restaurants that held by Chinese companies and turn to local restaurants that support protesters. Spread the #boycottmulan incident could help as well.

Don't use Huawei, Xiaomi phone even they are super cheap. Do not use apps invented by Chinese companies as well, including Wechat and TikTok.

How likely do you think it is that these protests will yield results?

Well, we just had our peaceful protest last Sunday, and tbh many of ppl already knows that our Chief Executive Carrie Lam would care a bit of it, but it is still important to show the world that we wouldn't fall down until the Gov accept the five appeals/demands raised by the HK people at once.

Also, I do think that if there wasn't a series of protests in mid June and the break-in into Legislative Council in 1 July, the bill would probably have passed.

Each shot of teargas gets easier, been there. What's yo HK and why do you protest?

Sorry to hear that you were suffered from tear gas as well, that shit was just horrible.

I am assuming you know what's the background of this whole thing, so I am just gonna talk more about my personal experience. If you have no idea about what's going on, Vox made a video for that and I do think that it explains quite well. You may see here: https://youtu.be/6_RdnVtfZPY. You are welcome to ask any further detail on the bill though.

I first joined the protest on 9 June, which 1 million people go on the street and express to the government they don't want the extradition bill amendment. Later the protesters started to occupy spaces outside the Legislative Council (LegCo) and wants the Chief Executive Carrie Lam to withdraw the bill, yet she announced that the bill will still go on and pissed all the protesters. A lot of the people wants to get into the LegCo building but the police came it and had a huge clash.

I was outside the LegCo building and too scared thinking of the consequences after arrest (That's my first experience such kind of occupying movement, especially with police violence), I couldn't even walk upfront a bit and so I was just distributing gloves and marks outside. I left there safe but one of my friends got injured accidentally so I sent her to a hospital.

There I saw a university student which got hit on the head by the police and escaped luckily because the protesters pulled him back from the police. He came to us and asked whether we could borrow a phone. He lost his during the chaotic situation. It was that moment I felt heartbreaking and regraded my decision there. He hasn't even finished his degree yet. The one that supposed to have a great future now had to worry whether he will be charged with criminal offense. I really don't want to see case like that anymore, and I don't want myself regarding for what I didn't do anymore. That's why I stepped out and fought with them, no just for myself, bu t for everyone else as well.

why were there so many HK colonial flags in those protests?

Not op, but many people get really nostalgic when thinking of British rule and miss it dearly, which could be why this is the case

This is one of the reasons. I read an interview with people holding the colonial flags by BBC, and they said they wanted China to be pissed off, to show the world China has failed to rule a city.

The pro China legislative councilors and government officials strongly condemned this act, which we found really satisfying to see them being pissed off.

I personally has no comment on raising the flags, as it is among protesters that we could do whatever we can do as long as it's against the bill. There's a saying (exaggerating) that we will not give up or condemn each other even one of us used necular weapons on the government and the police.

I wish you the best, friend. What is the likelihood of the army going into HK and what would it take for them to go in?

Also, what are you ideologically/politically speaking? What do you, personally, believe in?

Don't think they are gonna let the army enter in short, but lots of signs imply that Chinese police/soldiers had been camouflaging as HK polices.

I think at this point, I could represent all the protesters to say we want the government to accept our 5 demands, including:

1/ Completely withdraw Extradition Bill 2/ Retract the proclamation that protests on 9th June and 12th June were riots 3/ Withdraw criminal charges against all protesters  4/ Thoroughly investigate abuse of powers by the police. 5/ Dissolve the Legislative Council by administrative order, and immediately implement Dual Universal Suffrage.

As for further actions or political beliefs, one thing specific here is that there are so many different ideologies, and we won't avoid people mentioning that as long as they are for the movement. The five demands should come first though, it's a consent.

Do most people china acctualy know about tianamen square protest or do people acctualy nit know what hat happened

Many Chinese people don't know what happened there. Even if so, they either pretended they don't know so that the Chinese government won't arrest them, or denied what happened there. The younger generation (born after 1990s) was brain washed to deny any information that harms the communist party. Only few survived.

In Hong Kong, the Tiananmen event was stilling in high school textbooks, but I heard the book publishers (which Chinese gov hold a dominant amount of shares) are deleting the paragraphs, which was already very little in the book.

Luckily, we could still know as much as we want because the sensorchip in China hasn't expand to Hong Kong yet. But at the end, it's just a matter of time, cuz we have to truly be a part of China in 2047. I cannot imagine the life afterwards.

50 years from now what do you want Hong Kong to be in terms of autonomy from mainland China?

My personal ultimate goal would be to be completely independent from China as a country. If we lose this fight, no one can survive. But that takes time to do it. Now I just want them to accept the five demand we raised.

I would hope that if the Chinese government took to using open lethal force, that the rest of the world would step in.

Although that might end up being another Vietnam if not handled right.

Many people won't mind anyways. Some kinda want to force to enter so that our economy could drop a hell ton. We aren't the one enjoying the economic growth anyways. Let those who just sat on hands during the two months fall with us.

If I burn, you burn with us.

That's reckless. I get where you're coming from, but I wouldnt be so quick to wish for your world to end just to injure china.

Living your lives in peace and keeping the rights you have are the most important things. Sacrificing yourselves won't help that cause.

If the Chinese government does send troops in, and Hong Kong does fall, China will recover in time. But the way you live your life will be over.

Keep doing what you are doing. It's the right thing to do. But don't be so quick to invite war into your city.

You now know how depressed and hopeless we are feeling currently.

From a Filipino-Chinese, to the HK People out there

I have had the chance to work in HK for 6 months, and I have fallen in love with how the country is so international, and everyone is so friendly there that you can easily strike up a conversation with just about anyone. I have made some good friends there, and I will never forget those 6 months. I stand with you, yet despite me not being able to do anything as a young man.

I have parents who share the sentiments of the China government, and sometimes it's not easy to voice out my sentiments in the family. I can see some of them sharing heavily biased news from China, and to think that some of them would talk about it boldly with just that side of the story.

While I support HK to stay as it is, I can't help but wonder on the back of my mind that it's just a ticking time bomb before your country's autonomy will be handed back to China. What will be your plan then? Do you have an exit strategy of sorts? Or will you stay in Hong Kong?

Actually many of us don't know how's will this end, at least lots of my friends were still in the process of reaching the answer.

I was actually planning to migrant to somewhere else, probably Taiwan or some other Asian countries. However, like most of people, I really don't have enough resources (mostly money) to execute the plan within 20 to 30 years,which sounds like a joke to myself. It's nearly impossible to do so if you're not a professional elite or in upper class of society.

But on the other hand, there is one thing that we do have to acknowledge, is that social movements like these were never aimed to serve the privileged ones, but the poor ones. Remember that many people don't have any chance to leave this unfair society, and have to stay eternally suffering. Not to mention that the situation right now has turned down that no one here would be deterred from risk.

I was born and raised in Hong Kong, it's my hometown, and I don't want it to be suffered like that.

Has there been any hostage situations yet? Do you think there will be any or more?

Sadly it just happened recently. A British Counsulate employee was lost while taking High Speed Rail back to HK for a business trip. His family was told that he was adadministratively detained and the family members had to find the officials by themselves in order to obtain the information.No explanation on why, where and how long he was to bedetained.

In today's press conference held by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the officials finally admitted that the person was detained because he was suspected to violate the  Security Administration Punishment Law, which a lot of the statements were too minor to call it a crime. The officials also basically said shut them fuck up to all people concerning the situation because the person is a HK citizen, and HK is a part of China.

If the bill passes, anyone in HK could be like treated that, but no one could challenge it because it will become the law of Hong Kong.

In Catalonia we have that with a smaller scale(more or less) the media is really divided, and the eu as far as I know didn't do nothing. Of course hitting Un armed catalans with batons is OK! But anything that poland and Hungary do is automatic destruction (of course this is sarcasm) But really, is really much socialism VS conservatism at this point. I've seen people say that catalans are aggressive protesters, but... No. I mean, that Are getting aggressive because, you know.. They got suppressed, and now they are fining the guy incharge of Catalonia for not getting yellow laces (the symbol of catalan independence) off balconies. We are. Making deals now but... Well onto the questions.

1:do you want Hong Kong to be independent, re join the UK or just for Beijing to mind their own buisness?

Fully support that my friend, I am with you.

As for your question, I don't think HK people are gonna be comfortable to be ruled by China anymore. But considering what the next step, we still don't have a consent yet. Time will tell.

You said hk wants to gain independence? Well, sorry to drown your hope, but trust me that's never gonna happen XD. I mean China can let you become independent and then declare war on u. so u all die anyways

Well, if that's the case, I don't mind burning with the economy falling globally.

We are all gonna die anyways, it's a matter of how we live it, not how long we live it.

Hi, I just don't entirely understand what you guys are protesting. Could you explain what is happening there, and it is going to end up like Tiananmen Square?

It's a long story and probably worth a comprehensive essay to cover everything. I do find a video from Vox that explains the background quite well and I will put the link here: https://youtu.be/6_RdnVtfZPY

Now remember that this is just the beginning of a series of protests, and a lot of issues had been raising during these two months, including excessive violence used by the Police to protesters, corporation between the triads and Police (or I should the gov) to harm citizens, inhumanely using tear gas and rubber bullets, China's interruption on the issue.

I found a timeline picture that covers till 21 July, you may also take a look: https://images.app.goo.gl/K9CPc6TpCBryu6wh9

Why are you assaulting your fellow hongkongers? And people on the airport? That's not cool man

I mean, the police called us cockroaches, have you condemned them yet?

And protesters with heavy injuries after being arrested? They were hit by the police, and the police admitted it during the press conference today. Did you write a complaint letter for their unnecessary violence?

No you did not. Instead you are here blaming the protesters for being too sad and emotional after a First aid girl being shot to blind by the police.

May I use a quote from the police, “We are not doing the best, we aren't perfect, but we could do better.”

Maybe i express myself in wrong manner. Accept my apologies. Im not pro-beijing for sure. I just dont like seeing you fight each other. And definitely not supporting the hk police. Those so called officers should be on your side. Im following the events since day 1. Don't want to see another Tiananmen Massacre all over again. But gotta understand its not cool assaulting fellow citizens or turist.

The government had been using a lot of different tactics to work against protesters, one of which was sending police as spy and confuse the protesters. You may know that those spy arrested a lot of protesters on 11 August. Under such circumstances, it is hard for us to keep calm as well as preventing spy for creating larger mess.

I do think that there could be better ways to handle the situation in the airport, but at the end of the day, we were just amateur to social movement. The last one was umbrella revolution, which we were having a peaceful march, and we all paid the price for being naive. This time, we will do all we could to fight for ourselves.

How's it like posting from a 4 day old throwaway account?

Have you considered maybe the person just made a reddit specifically to speak about recent events?

And that maybe hong kong’s a little tighter with their social networks than us westerners?

Well, as a part of people who just made a reddit to speak about the recent events, all I wanna do it the share with you guys what's happening here as a protestor. I think there's more you could know and wanna know besides reading from the news.

We do have a lot of “50 cents” (not the rapper, but those pro China accounts that that had been spreading rumors against protestors), but generally still not the “China” level.

Why haven't the protests addressed transgender rights yet?

We do, but not this time.

But as a part of the LGBT community, I could tell you that most of us are the protesters side, because Hong Kong is our hometown, and we want to protect the beautiful city and people we had.

Are you protesting vaccines?

I am not quite sure about your question, could you explain a bit more?