Journalist and Photographer
In the summer of 2019, Hong Kong started to witness its worst political crisis since Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997. This summer of unrest was ignited by a much loathed extradition bill that would allow Hong Kong government to extradite certain criminals to mainland China. This move swiftly angered Hong Kong's citizens who at the time had already sensed Beijing's gradual but evident erosion on Hong Kong's promised semi-autonomy under the "one country, two systems" regime. In response, Hong Kong people took to the streets and demanded the withdrawal of the extradition bill. At its peak, over 2 million people marched on the streets to voice their opinions and discontent towards the Hong Kong government, and at large, Chinese central government in Beijing.
However, as the protests raged on, the protesters demands have gone beyond the initial petition to withdraw the bill. Their months-long slogan is "Five Demands, Not One Less," referring to, in addition to the withdrawal of the bill, the establishment of independent investigation committee to look into police brutality, the withdrawal of the definition of "riots" imposed on the protests, releasing the arrestees, and universal suffrage.
Although Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, finally agreed to withdraw the bill in late September, most protesters saw this move as too little and too late. The movement was put to an abrupt halt as the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the world, but as Beijing moved to enact the National Security Law in Hong Kong, many people see this as the end of the city as we know it. The movement is back on its way to full force.