Candy Choi | Founder of an art organisation - “As well as donating money, I want to tell Hongkongers, by taking action, that we stand with them in solidarity.”

This is not the Hong Kong I know. I had been depressed for a long time. Every night, I need to meditate for an hour before being able to go to sleep. We all need to work together to fight for the freedom of speech: a universal value which we all embrace.

Politics, Overseas, ArtsWe Are HKers28 November 2019candy choi, lui, art, organisation, founder, amsterdam, yuen long, fashion, design, incident, overseasComment

Candy | A single mother - “As a mother, of course I am very worried; but as a Hongkonger, I have to let him go out.”

He was once soaked in blue dye from the water cannon. I was miserable. That’s my son! I don’t want him to get hurt. Yet I know that I can’t stop him from heading out just because he is my son. What about someone else’s son?

Family, PoliticsWe Are HKers24 November 2019candy, tangerine, christy, single, mother, son, parent, love, family, christian, australia Comment

William | A playwright since the Umbrella Movement - "As long as the government has not officially implemented restrictions, I will not change the way I create."

What is frightening is that this sort of self-censorship by the organisers is subconsciously done. They may think that they have given the crew a free space to think and create, and yet they will reexamine the production even without receiving any external pressure.

Politics, Career, EntertainmentWe Are HKers22 November 2019william, totow, kc, playwright, umbrella movement, theatre, performing, arts, censorshipComment

Kelvin | Frontliner on why he is willing to sacrifice - “If I succumb to fear, Hong Kong will fall apart.”

We never push with the intent to harm or kill the police. We just want to push them back so that the PRNs won’t be afraid of taking to the streets. I hope those two million people can once again come forward, even if they only help with passing supplies at the back. I promise that us frontliners will always stand in front of PRNs, so that if anything goes wrong, we will be at the front shielding you and making sure all the PRNs have retreated safely before leaving.

PoliticsWe Are HKers19 November 2019frontliner, frontline, kelvin, tea leaf, tendarken, handsome fat jai, kc, valiants, fear, protest, Protests, protester, protests, 831, PRN, courage, youngstersComment

Polly | Swiss graphic designer - "As a paper-lover, I love how Hongkongers go back to paper for communication and promotion."

I think people in my country don't really understand how important Hongkongers’ fight is. As Switzerland is one of the most democratic countries in the world, freedom to us is like ‘air’, we are born with it - it is taken for granted. So I was wondering what I could do in an artistic way to help them understand.

Politics, Career, Overseas, ArtsWe Are HKers16 November 2019nata, lui, pauline, swiss, graphic, designer, paper, promotion, communication, lennon, wall, art, artist, overseasComment

Chan Jai | A participant in the movement who never stepped up to the front line - "One might even say I lack the courage to make a difference."

Since I became aware of social movements, I have only been a participant, and have never stepped up to the frontline of the movement, because I am afraid of trouble and easily discouraged. One might even say I lack the courage to make a difference. My newly acquainted ‘schoolmates’ changed me. They are really helpful and truly tireless, and taught me how to be free from fear via action, letting me know that breakthroughs lie only in persistence.

Ted | Evolution of a protestor: resistance as an ‘occupation’ - "We must turn our grief into action."

Regardless of my position as a PRE, part of a road-blocking team, or as a driver shuttling protestors around, I truly believe that each role has its own impact… You can never foresee how your actions today will spur the actions of other people in the future… We must turn our grief into action, so that we can bring about changes for Hong Kong, for our next generations, and for the sake of democracy and freedom.

PoliticsWe Are HKers12 November 2019Ted, occupation, protest, protester, PRN, frontliner, driver, grief, action, public relations, PR, youngsters, overseas Comment

Social worker Carmen | 31 Aug incident: a sad and helpless night. - “Until the truth is revealed, Hongkongers will never give up.”

I was really worried, and my heart was burning in anxiousness. I wanted to cry. But I kept reminding myself that I was working, I had to hold back my tears. What was really happening down there? What took the paramedics so long?

PoliticsWe Are HKers10 November 2019tea leaf, lui, carmen, social, worker, 31 aug, 831, truth, mtr, station, incident, prince edwardComment

Emma | Student nurse volunteering as first-aider - "I don’t want to regret not contributing more when protestors have already sacrificed so much."

In nursing, we embrace moral principles that guide our professional medical practice. We value equality, honesty, and integrity. Most of all, we learn to do no harm.

Career, PoliticsWe Are HKers9 November 2019emma, nurse, first, aider, firstaid, student, professional, medical, protests, protester, frontline, tendarkenComment

Meifei | 'School bus' driver - "It was fate that led to us providing free rides and helping student protestors get home."

As for the ideal Hong Kong, I think it would be similar to how it was pre-1997, when there was the Independent Commission Against Corruption and a fair legal system, when the civil service system was sound and citizens had housing... Twenty years after the handover, we are shocked to discover how much we have lost. The prosperity has faded and the glory days of this resplendent metropolis are over.

Career, PoliticsWe Are HKers6 November 2019perspectives, kc, school bus, driver, free rides, student, Dunkirk evacuation, umbrella movement, protester, ProtestsComment

Lisa - "It was my first time facing danger - a danger that was so close."

We realised we couldn’t rely on anyone - not the police - because they’d arrest us, and definitely not the white shirts who would chase us down.

PoliticsWe Are HKers5 November 2019ka yan, lisa, tendarken, danger, airport, tung chung, lantau, evacuator, driver, white shirt, policeComment

G - "Hongkongers are doing whatever they can, regardless of where and who they are, with the same goal in mind."

Hongkongers are doing whatever they can, regardless of where and who they are, with the same goal in mind. They’ve got it all covered. There’s even a group that collects recyclables at every protest, and another that cleans up the site after protests. It never ceases to amaze me how they can bond together so quickly and efficiently, fuelled by the anger towards injustice and the love for freedom.

Politics, Personal, Identity, OverseasWe Are HKers3 November 2019singapore, G, singaporean, JCo, Lui, perseverance, utopia, role, umbrella movement, overseasComment