We can’t stop thinking or talking about Hong Kong.
At the time of writing, the extradition bill that sparked the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong has been pulled, meaning that the Chinese government won’t be able to exert as much influence as it clearly wants to over the former British colony.
But that doesn’t mean the fight for freedom is over. Demonstrators weren’t just protesting that bill. They were protesting communist rule from Beijing on every level. Everything from Xi Jinping’s despotism to the country’s insanely intrusive surveillance state came up. Street lights suspected to hold secret cameras were smashed in public. Clearly, this protest was about much more than a piece of legislation.
It’s the demonstrators themselves that catch our interest. When you see protests like this on the streets in America, the last thing you see nowadays is a person waving an American flag — unless there’s some counter-protest. But, that’s the flag of choice for many Hong Kong residents. They know real oppression, as do the people of mainland China. The American flag is what they turn to in revolt — not the flag of the communists.
