11:04 6 Aug: First Ever Press Conference Held by Protesters to Counterweight Gov't PC; Invites People to Join Future PC if Interested
After disappearing from public eye for 11 days, CE Carrie Lam, announced during yesterday's press conference that daily police and government interdepartmental PCs will be held starting from 5 Aug. In the hopes to balance the government's one-sided political discourse, a civil press conference was held today. In response to the statements made by FS Paul Chan yesterday, the speakers stressed that the economic changes in Hong Kong began long before the protests started and that they were mainly the results of external factors such as the stagnating global economy and the current Sino-US trade war.
The speakers strongly condemned the incompetence and negligence of the HKPF and cited incidents in Tseung Kwan O, Sai Wan, Tin Shui Wai, Kwun Tong as examples of excessive use of force. They urged the police to remember the vows and mottos of the HKPF and to exercise restraint in the face of protests. They reiterated the 5 core demands, and particularly emphasised the importance and urgency of dual-universal suffrage. They asked for the government to restore Hong Kong's self-autonomy and respect the people’s right to the freedom of assembly, expression and democracy.
In the Q&A section, when asked about the slogan “Reclaim Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times”, they explained that while activist Edward Leung coined the words in 2016, different individuals or parties (including the government) will have differed interpretations. They hope to involve others in future press conferences to explain their opinions on the slogan itself. The statement made today was constructed with information gathered from Telegram and other platforms over a short period of time. It included views from supplies teams, frontliners, local residents and other participants of the movement. The exact number of people contributed to the statement is unknown, but there were about 100 people who were involved with the PC's preparations today.
The speakers stated that the public should not simply be focused on protesters on the frontlines, rather to consider all who have actively spoken out against police brutality and injustice as "frontliners" as well. They urged Hongkongers to stand united and to pressure the government into respond to the core demands, with the hopes that the government would finally effectively resolve the ongoing protests and appease the people.
The speakers reiterated that they were simply providing a platform where people could make their voices heard. They are not affiliated with any political party, organization and do not represent LIHKG netizens either. For this reason, they are unable to comment on individual incidents (e.g. setting fires) or any future strategies used in protests. Furthermore, they explained that the movement is spontaneous and self-driven, it is impossible for an individual or group to have the power to command the crowd. They will not and cannot tell anyone to escalate the tactics used in the movement.
Regarding the 5 demands, they emphasized that timing and order were irrelevant since all 5 demands are equally important for the movement. The general will throughout the past protests and assemblies is for all 5 to be met and that would be the only way to appease the people. While some believed that establishing an independent commission of inquiry (ICOI) could be a good first step, there are also some who question such commission's political and judiciary independence and whether it would deliver substantive results.
The speakers expressed uncertainty regarding potential PLA intervention in the future, but were confident that in the case of intervention, Hong Kong and the global economy will be forced to respond accordingly. While they continued to urge Hongkongers to "be water" in the face of potential threat and adversity, they claimed that the only way to solve the current political crisis for the government to respond to the people's demands.
On the various protests on 5 August, the speakers apologised for the inconvenience caused by the non-cooperative movement and the 7 district public assemblies. However, they said that the government’s inability to listen to the peoples’ demands was the leading cause of recent escalation. Although the protests orginated from the anti-extradition movement, recent protests have revealed the depth of the people's discontent which extends to various other socio-political issues -- which the government has made no efforts to address or solve. After numerous peaceful methods of expressing our dissatisfaction were to no avail (e.g. protests, strikes, actions by frontliners), the civil press conference was the most recent attempt to provide a nuanced perspective of recent events.
In terms of future PCs, the speakers said it would depend on the manpower available and the reactions to today’s PC. They hoped for the PCs to focus on the HKPF's excessive use of force and negligence while they also wished to invite other citizens to join them in the future. However, no concrete plans have been made for similar events in the future.
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