1. THREAD: Dear world, I want to say a few words about what happened in #HongKong yesterday.
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10. Hong Kong has 7.5 million people, so an equivalent of ONE IN FOUR out of the entire population protested in a single occasion. I am not aware of anything comparable to this level of discontent against a government in modern history.
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11. Lam finally apologized two days later, but for what? For failing to “properly communicate” to Hong Kongers what the extradition bill was all about. Even up until that point, then, the subtext was that she was still right and we were too stupid.
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12. Commentators around the world thought the movement was over by then, because the bill had supposedly been ‘suspended’ and Lam had said sorry. But actually none of our demands were met. Lam refused dialogue with opposition lawmakers and continued to praise the police.
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13. Since my release on June 17 from prison, I took part in a number of smaller-scale rallies, sit-ins and occasional skirmishes. We wanted to let Beijing and the world know the fight was far from over. The G-20 summit in Osaka was then fast approaching.
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14. Hong Kongers’ determination was on full display again when, within 11 hours, we crowdfunded over HK$6.7 million for newspaper ads ahead of the G-20 summit calling for the world not to neglect us.
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15. We were grateful for world leaders, including Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and President Donald Trump, for raising the issue of Hong Kong human rights in their respective meetings with Xi Jinping. Yet by June 29, our demands were still ignored. It appeared we were really losing.
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16. Devastating news followed. Two additional young fellow protesters jumped to their deaths over this past weekend. The Hong Kong government was pushing us to the point of despair and desperation. We tried every possible way imaginable to make our voices heard.
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17. In a democracy, this extradition bill would long ago have been terminated. Polls consistently show some 70% of Hong Kongers in favor of a full withdrawal. The political career of any other leader would also have been over with this level of resistance over such a long period.
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18. Alas, Hong Kong is not a democracy. Lam, a puppet of BeijingC is also unlike any leader. The source of her power comes not from Hong Kongers but from the Chinese Communist Party. This brings me back to events yesterday.
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19. The protesters who broke into the Legislative Council complex were NOT rioters. They were NOT violent. Their objective was never to harm any individuals. They wanted to make the regime hear Hong Kongers’ voice, and they had no other option. WE ALREADY TRIED EVERYTHING ELSE.
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20. Perhaps not all of you will agree with every single action they took yesterday. But what are a few pieces of glass worth in comparison to the deaths of three young men and women? What are a few portraits worth in comparison to the very survival of Hong Kong as a place?
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21. The moment they stepped into the building, they knew what awaited them. They would face almost certain prosecution and probable imprisonment over rioting charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years. They have a whole life ahead of them.
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22. Some well-intentioned opposition lawmakers tried to persuade protesters out of it. But they replied that since others had already perished, whatever physical and legal consequences they would face immediately paled in comparison. Watching this exchange put tears in my eyes.
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23. Even after the break-in, protesters behaved with unimaginable discipline. They left cash at the counter before taking drinks from the cafeteria. They sealed the library off to preserve historical documents stored inside. Not a second did they lose their cool.
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24. What kind of young people does Hong Kong produce? Smart, efficient, attentive and freedom-loving. I am proud of them, although I confess I do not have the courage to do what they did yesterday. I have been jailed three times, so I know full well what now lies ahead of them.
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25. Sometimes in life we are forced to make split-second decisions that will forever alter us as individuals, and perhaps even alter the course of history. It is of course too soon to tell, but I can only hope that years later when we look back to 2019, we will have no regrets.
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26. Hong Kongers remain as united as we ever are. I am proud of what our friends did last night. For the first time I was also tear gassed, right outside the complex when cops tried to clear our defense line. Moving forward, we will continue find our own place and fight on.
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27. The ongoing protests have already defied the expectations of not just every commentators# and scholar but also myself as an activist. I would be foolish to try to predict what is next.
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28. If there is just one takeaway for the world: Events in Hong Kong are about so much more than the bill, more than Lam, more even than democracy. They all matter of course. But in the end it is about the future of Hong Kong beyond 2047, a future that belongs to our generation.
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29. Please continue to keep an eye on us, and keep supporting us. On behalf of Hong Kongers I thank everyone for taking the time to learn about this unique place we call home. THREAD ENDS.
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End of conversation
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