Dozens of Hong Kong people gathered at San Leandro Waterfront Park in the East Bay Area on the evening of August 31st to commemorate the 2019 Prince Edward MTR Station incident in Hong Kong. They called on Hong Kong people to continue their resistance and offered their support to their fellow Hongkongers.
The event was planned and organized by the American Hong Kong Association. Participants displayed banners in the park and distributed flyers to passersby introducing the “8.31 Incident”. Songs like “Glory to Hong Kong” with Anti-Extradition Bill themes were played, people raised Hong Kong independence flags and slogans saying “Free Hong Kong”, chanting slogans like “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times”.
Supporters from Guangdong also showed up to voice their solidarity with the Hong Kong people. As night fell, a flower-laying ceremony was held in front of the banners, with electronic candles forming the numbers “831”.
On August 31, 2019, a group of Hong Kong police officers indiscriminately attacked citizens at the Prince Edward MTR Station, later closing the station, sparking widespread criticism.
Miss Shi from the American Hong Kong Association urged everyone at the rally to support Hong Kong protesters in various ways, including donations, letter writing, and sending Christmas cards to their imprisoned brothers and sisters. She stated that over the past five years, the actions of the Hong Kong government have become increasingly vile. Even actions as simple as buying mooncakes, wearing black clothes, or holding a bouquet of pink roses may lead to police scrutiny. Their most common tactic is to accuse people of inciting or colluding with foreign forces. We must continue to resist and expose the evil deeds of the Hong Kong government to the world.
Chen Guoxi, the organizer of the Hong Kong Association in Northern California, stated that Hong Kong’s freedom is being continuously squeezed, and various rights are rapidly diminishing. Particularly last week, the conviction of two former chief editors of the Hong Kong online media outlet “Stand News” highlighted the ongoing regression of press freedom and rule of law.
In this situation, it is difficult to see large-scale movements like those in the past. However, he believed that as long as Hong Kong people uphold their beliefs, continue to convey information, when the time is right, the scenes of the million-person marches will be reenacted, and Hong Kong people will once again stand up to fulfill our unfinished goals.
Mr. Mak from the Walk With Hong Kong Humanitarian Foundation stated that today is August 31st, and as a Hong Konger, he is unwilling to forget this day. He believes that Hong Kong is like a phoenix reborn from the ashes and will only rise up to resist in the most difficult moments.
Hong Kong pastor Cindy led the crowd in praying for the suffering Hongkongers. She stated that since 2019, the resistance has never stopped. Although many Western pastors have come out to support us, there are relatively few Chinese pastors.
In 2022, 14 global religious leaders jointly wrote to Carrie Lam, urging for the pardon of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai and other political prisoners. Cindy mentioned that the letter was submitted successfully, but the result was as expected – our appeal received no response.
She asserted that we cannot control the outcome, but that should not prevent us from fulfilling our conscience responsibilities.
Due to the violent treatment by the Hong Kong police, many Hong Kong people have suffered severe physical and mental trauma, some even showing signs of suicide. Therefore, she launched the “Dr. Chaplain – Walking with Children” program on YouTube, dedicated to accompanying and supporting mentally wounded Hongkongers.