Two things stood out to me when I visited the Chinese University of Hong Kong this December: the anti-CCP graffiti left by the students, and the workers cleaning it up. Two snapshots in this freeze frame could be interpreted as a representation of the Hong Kong protests- many local people continue to state their five demands, e.g by using graffiti to spread the message, as they continue to face hardships such as supposed police brutality. Meanwhile other local workers seek to erase the message undoing the work as they scrub the walls.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is absolutely littered with graffiti. All over the walls and ground there are messages done in spray paint. Layer upon layer of anti- Chinese government posters seem to be superglued to the ground, to every tree and bus stop more propaganda is stapled.
Here are some of the messages I found throughout the University:
“Ideas are bulletproof”
“Rebellion is coming”
“History is written in blood”
“Liberty or death”
Yet simultaneously , workers are scrubbing the walls and floors, and tearing off glued posters from their surfaces (see attached pictures.) And still the marks of the HKU students remain- with more and more graffiti being put up. This situation is a very real in parallel with the situation in Hong Kong as a whole- as people still continue to protest even after the extradition bill- the short term cause of the disruption- was withdrawn. Yet still the police continue to push back on protests, and this circular chain of reactions is set forth.
Although the future of Hong Kong remains uncertain, I can be and am sure about the privilege I have as a British Citizen, of democracy. Fighting for my future is something that does not even cross my mind. I do not have to fight tooth and nail for this human right. I have never been a victim of police brutality. It’s easy to take our freedoms for granted.
Jasmine Jewell
