(C) Global Voices
This story was originally published by Global Voices and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Hong Kong Labour Day protest called off after organizer's brief disappearance [1]
['Hong Kong Free Press']
Date: 2023-04-27
The original version of the report was written by Lea Mok and published in Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) on April 26, 2023. The following edited version is published on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement with HKFP.
A planned Labour Day march in Hong Kong was scrapped after one of its organisers went missing for four hours on April 26, 2023. The event was set to take place May 1 to assert workers’ rights.
The rally application was filed earlier this month by activists Denny To and Joe Wong, former members of the now-defunct pro-democracy coalition, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU). They regularly released updates about their application status on the Facebook page, Hong Kong May Day.
On the morning of April 26, a statement on their Facebook page said that Joe Wong had disappeared from his home and had been unreachable since 7:30 am.
His family and friends suspect that Wong might have been taken away by the police for investigation or arrested. They have contacted lawyers to follow up.
Mounting pressure and stress
Four hours later, Denny To released a statement on the Facebook page announcing that Wong had “regained his freedom” at 11:30 am and suffered an emotional breakdown due to the pressure and stress:
今早約11時半，黃迺元恢復人身自由。他未有被拘捕，但情緒崩潰，顯然承受了巨大壓力。他向我表示，剛剛已簽紙取消遊行申請，但限於《港區國安法》第63條，無辦法透露詳情。由於過往經歷，我能夠想像期間發生了甚麼事。黃已經盡了一切努力捍衛集會遊行權利，我完全理解及支持他的決定。請大家給他時間休息，傳媒可以聯絡本人回應。 故事會如此發展，在決定申請時已有預料。情節雷同，實非巧合。[…] Timothy Snyder指出：「威權主義的權力，大部份都是被慷慨賦予。在如此時代，個體往往預先考慮壓制性更強的政府想要甚麼，然後在沒有被要求的情況下預先服從。公民以這種方式適應威權，猶如教導權力可以做甚麼。」 但願某程度上，我們已做到這一點。
Around 11:30 am this morning, Joe Wong regained his freedom. He was not arrested but suffered from an emotional breakdown. Obviously, he was under tremendous pressure. He told me that he had signed to withdraw the rally application. But restricted by Article 63 of the National Security Law, he could not reveal the details. Due to my experience, I can imagine what had happened to him. Wong has done everything to uphold the right to assembly; I completely understand and support his decision. We anticipated this outcome when we decided to file the application […] Timothy Snyder wrote [in the Twenty Lesson to Fight against Tyranny ], “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.” To a certain degree, we have accomplished this.[…]
The police confirmed on the same day that the request for a Labour Day march had been cancelled. A police spokesperson warned that anyone who gathered unlawfully on Hong Kong Island on May 1 could be charged with participating in an illegal assembly, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Police probes and hijacking concerns
When asked to comment on To’s statement, Hong Kong’s Security Secretary Chris Tang did not clarify whether national security police had spoken to Wong, and asked the media to inquire with the organisers why their application for the march had been withdrawn. However, he said if the organisers considered themselves incapable of ensuring the safety of the public event, cancelling the march would be the responsible move.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://globalvoices.org/2023/04/27/hong-kong-labour-day-protest-called-off-after-organizers-brief-disappearance/
Published and (C) by Global Voices
Content appears here under this condition or license:
https://globalvoices.org/about/global-voices-attribution-policy/.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/globalvoices/
