SAN FRANCISCO—They wear black clothing and hold hand-made signs. The image used to symbolize the event is a female with a bloody right eye wrapped in bandages.
The Northern California Hong Kong Club organized an event to show that San Franciscans support Hongkonger’s right to protest.
Hayman Wong is a student at UC Berkeley and was born and raised in Hong Kong. She joined the parade protest there.
Wong said she was touched that so many young people would sacrifice their time to go out in black long sleeves and pants on a hot day.
“I would see a lot of [the] younger generation who choose to step up in this movement. Even though we might disagree on some political opinions … I would say I can see a really unified side of Hong Kong this time,” said Wong.
Christine Su, a Chinese-American supporter who grew up in Hong Kong, hears about the situation first-hand from her friends and family in Hong Kong.
“Every time the Chinese government tries to infringe on what was promised, which was one country, two systems, and to maintain all the freedom of press, and to move towards universal suffrage … Hong Kong people don’t really believe that that’s in the cards anymore. And so that’s why people keep coming out to the streets to fight; for like, to take a last stand, and then two years later, they take another last stand,” said Su. “They’re my heroes, ‘cause you can’t imagine anything that would bring out 2 million people.'”
They also invited Larry Diamond, sociology and political science professor at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute, to say a few words about the democratic governance they are fighting for.
“We’re not just fighting for Hong Kong values, We’re not just fighting for American values, these are universal values that all leaders are obligated to defend, whether they’re sitting in Hong Kong, or Beijing, or anywhere else in the world,” said Diamond.
They continue to join the Hong Kong protest from the U.S. to show Hongkongers that they are not alone, and to urge the U.S. Congress to support the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019.
