【Joshua Wong speaking to the Italian Senate】#意大利國會研討會演說 —— 呼籲世界在大學保衛戰一週年後與香港人站在同一陣線
中文、意大利文演說全文:https://www.patreon.com/posts/44167118
感謝開創未來基金會(Fondazione Farefuturo)邀請,讓我透過視像方式在意大利國會裡舉辦的研討會發言,呼籲世界繼續關注香港,與香港人站在同一陣線。
意大利作為絕無僅有參與一帶一路發展的國家,理應對中共打壓有更全面的理解,如今正值大學保衛戰一週年,以致大搜捕的時刻,當打壓更為嚴峻,香港更需要世界與我們同行。
為了讓各地朋友也能更了解香港狀況,我已在Patreon發佈當天演說的中文、英文和意大利文發言稿,盼望在如此困難的時勢裡,繼續讓世界知道我們未曾心息的反抗意志。
【The Value of Freedom: Burning Questions for Hong Kongers】
Good morning. I have the privilege today to share some of my thoughts and reflections about freedom, after taking part in social activism for eight years in Hong Kong. A movement calling for the withdrawal of the extradition law starting from last year had escalated into a demand for democracy and freedom. This city used to be prestigious for being the world’s most liberal economy, but now the infamous authoritarian government took away our freedom to election, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and ideas.
Sometimes, we cannot avoid questioning the cause we are fighting for, the value of freedom. Despite a rather bleak prospect, why do we have to continue in this struggle? Why do we have to cherish freedom? What can we do to safeguard freedom at home and stay alert to attacks on freedom? In answering these questions, I hope to walk through three episodes in the previous year.
Turning to 2020, protests are not seen as frequently as they used to be on the media lens, partly because of the pandemic, but more importantly for the authoritarian rule. While the world is busy fighting the pandemic, our government took advantage of the virus to exert a tighter grip over our freedom. Putting the emergency laws in place, public assemblies in Hong Kong were banned. Most recently, a rally to support press freedom organized by journalists was also forbidden. While many people may ask if it is the end of street activism, ahead of us in the fight for freedom is another battleground: the court and the prison.
Freedom Fighters in Courtrooms and in Jail
Part of the huge cost incurred in the fight for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong is the increasing judicial casualties. As of today, more than 10 thousand people have been arrested since the movement broke out, more than a hundred of them are already locked up in prison. Among the 2,300 protestors who are prosecuted, 700 of them may be sentenced up to ten years for rioting charges.
Putting these figures into context, I wish to tell you what life is like, as a youngster in today’s Hong Kong. I was humbled by a lot of younger protestors and students whose exceptional maturity are demonstrated in courtrooms and in prison. What is thought to be normal university life is completely out of the question because very likely the neighbour next door or the roommate who cooked you lunch today will be thrown to jail on the next.
I do prison visits a few times a month to talk to activists who are facing criminal charges or serving sentences for their involvement in the movement. It is not just a routine of my political work, but it becomes my life as an activist. Since the movement, prison visits has also become the daily lives of many families.
But it is always an unpleasant experience passing through the iron gates one after one to enter the visitors’ room, speaking to someone who is deprived of liberty, for a selflessly noble cause. As an activist serving three brief jail terms, I understand that the banality of the four walls is not the most difficult to endure in jail. What is more unbearable is the control of thought and ideas in every single part of our daily routine enforced by the prison system. It will diminish your ability to think critically and the worst of it will persuade you to give up on what you are fighting for, if you have not prepared it well. Three years ago when I wrote on the first page of prison letters, which later turned into a publication called the ‘Unfree Speech’, I was alarmed at the environment of the prison cell. Those letters were written in a state in which freedom was deprived of and in which censorship was obvious. It brings us to question ourselves: other than physical constraints like prison bars, what makes us continue in the fight for freedom and democracy?
Mutual Support to activists behind-the-scene
The support for this movement is undiminished over these 17 months. There are many beautiful parts in the movement that continue to revitalise the ways we contribute to this city, instead of making money on our own in the so-called global financial centre. In particular, it is the fraternity, the mutual assistance among protestors that I cherished the most.
As more protestors are arrested, people offer help and assistance wholeheartedly -- we sit in court hearings even if we don’t know each other, and do frequent prison visits and write letters to protesters in detention. In major festivals and holidays, people gathered outside the prison to chant slogans so that they won’t feel alone and disconnected. This is the most touching part to me for I also experienced life in jail.
The cohesion, the connection and bonding among protestors are the cornerstone to the movement. At the same time, these virtues gave so much empowerment to the mass public who might not be able to fight bravely in the escalating protests. These scenes are not able to be captured by cameras, but I’m sure it is some of the most important parts of Hong Kong’s movement that I hope the world will remember.
I believe this mutual support transcends nationality or territory because the value of freedom does not alter in different places. More recently, Twelve Hongkong activists, all involved in the movement last year, were kidnapped by China’s coastal guard when fleeing to Taiwan for political refugee in late-August. All of them are now detained secretly in China, with the youngest aged only 16. We suspect they are under torture during detention and we call for help on the international level, putting up #SAVE12 campaign on twitter. In fact, how surprising it is to see people all over the world standing with the dozen detained protestors for the same cause. I’m moved by activists in Italy, who barely knew these Hong Kong activists, even took part in a hunger strike last month calling for immediate release of them. This form of interconnectivity keeps us in spirit and to continue our struggle to freedom and democracy.
Understanding Value of freedom in the university battle
A year ago on this day, Hong Kong was embroiled in burning clashes as the police besieged the Polytechnic University. It was a day we will not forget and this wound is still bleeding in the hearts of many Hong Kongers. A journalist stationed in the university at that time once told me that being at the scene could only remind him of the Tiananmen Square Massacre 31 years ago in Beijing. There was basically no exit except going for the dangerous sewage drains.
That day, thousands of people, old or young, flocked to districts close to the university before dawn, trying to rescue protestors trapped inside the campus. The reinforcements faced grave danger too, for police raided every corner of the small streets and alleys, arresting a lot of them. Among the 800+ arrested on a single day, 213 people were charged with rioting. For sure these people know there will be repercussions. It is the conscience driving them to take to the streets regardless of the danger, the conscience that we should stand up to brutality and authoritarianism, and ultimately to fight for freedoms that are guaranteed in our constitution. As my dear friend, Brian Leung once said, ‘’Hong Kong Belongs to Everyone Who Shares Its Pain’’. I believe the value of freedom is exemplified through our compassion to whom we love, so much that we are willing to sacrifice the freedom of our own.
Defending freedom behind the bars
No doubt there is a terrible price to pay in standing up to the Beijing and Hong Kong government. But after serving a few brief jail sentences and facing the continuing threat of harassment, I learnt to cherish the freedom I have for now, and I shall devote every bit what I have to strive for the freedom of those who have been ruthlessly denied.
The three episodes I shared with you today -- the courtroom, visiting prisoners and the battle of university continue to remind me of the fact that the fight for freedom has not ended yet. In the coming months, I will be facing a maximum of 5 years in jail for unauthorized assembly and up to one ridiculous year for wearing a mask in protest. But prison bars would never stop me from activism and thinking critically.
I only wish that during my absence, you can continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, by following closely to the development, no matter the ill-fated election, the large-scale arrest under National Security Law or the twelve activists in China. To defy the greatest human rights abusers is the essential way to restore democracy of our generation, and the generation following us.
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同時也有10000部Youtube影片,追蹤數超過2,910的網紅コバにゃんチャンネル,也在其Youtube影片中提到,...
press charges 中文 在 堅離地城:沈旭暉國際生活台 Simon's Glos World Facebook 的最讚貼文
感謝同事終於完成。請傳給相熟不同界別的全球學者,影響他們各自的政府。這是最新雙語版本。
【這是本頁admin聯同來自香港、香港各大院校學界友好草擬的,為配合運動性質,不希望成為大台,只希望大家傳開,如友好詢問發起人,可按以上回答。由於目標眾多,暫未安排登報,但會邀請參與聯署的各國學者各自傳到他們的媒體、政府部門和NGO,手足會按名單逐一聯繫,謝謝。】
【Sign Now】 Petition by Global Academics Against Police Brutality in Hong Kong 【立即簽署】全球學者反對香港警察暴行的請願書
Link to sign: https://forms.gle/VPbirzKZBjbbJuKA6
We the undersigned, as deeply concerned members of the global academic community,
1. Condemn the use of disproportionate force and retaliatory brutality by the Hong Kong Police against students in university campuses in Hong Kong. In particular, we are outraged by the unauthorised entry, extensive deployment of tear gas and violent intimidation in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, Polytechnic University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong on 11th and 12th November, 2019.
2. Condemn the use of unjustified violence against protesters across Hong Kong in all other contexts. Including, most recently, the firing of live rounds at point-blank range against protesters in Sai Wan Ho, and the repeated attempts by a motorcycle officer to run-over protesters in Kwai Fong on 11th November 2019, both of which are in clear violation of the Police General Orders Force Procedures Manual.
3. Condemn the continued use of neo-Fascist language by the Hong Kong Police, particularly the consistent reference to protesters and supporters of democracy as ‘cockroaches’, that contribute to furthering vitriolic hatred between all factions in the Hong Kong community.
4. Urge leaders of Hong Kong universities to release clear statements rejecting the entry of police into university campuses, supporting the freedom of assembly of students and staff, and reaffirming the sacrosanct responsibility of all universities to protect academic freedom and provide a safe space for all students to express their views.
5. Demand the Hong Kong Police to cease all acts of police brutality immediately, suspend officers who have committed disproportionate acts of violence with immediate effect, and initiate legal charges where necessary against officers who have violated the law.
6. Demand the Hong Kong government to set up an independent inquiry into the use of force in the protests since June 2019, chaired by an impartial judge. In particular, we believe the inquiry should have the power to summon witnesses, collect a coherent and representative body of evidence, and independently validate police accounts, above and beyond the restricted scope and power of the Independent Police Complaints Council.
We stand in solidarity with the Hong Kong people. We believe the defence of academic freedom, the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and association, and the responsibility to protect the safety of our students are universal causes common to all.
作為全球學術界的成員,我們深切關注香港事態發展,並簽名作以下聲明/請願:
1. 譴責香港警察對香港大學校園內的學生使用不相稱的武力和報復性殘暴行為。我們尤其對2019年11月11日至12日內警方在未經授權之下進入香港中文大學、香港理工大學和香港大學,並於以上大學及香港城市大學校園發射大量催淚煙和暴力恐嚇等部署感到極度憤怒。
2. 譴責在其他情況下香港警察對香港示威者使用不合理的暴力行為,包括最近有警員在西灣河向示威者近距離以實彈射擊、以及於2019年11月11日在葵芳一交警駕駛電單車企圖高速撞向示威者。這兩項事件都明顯違反警察通例之《程序手冊》。
3. 譴責香港警察持續使用新法西斯語言,特別是將示威者和民主支持者普遍統稱為「蟑螂」,在某些情況下還就學生示威者死亡高呼「開香檳慶祝」,加劇香港社會各派之間的極端仇恨。
4. 敦促香港各大學的領袖發表明確聲明,拒絕警察進入大學校園,支持學生和教職工的集會自由,並重申所有大學的神聖職責,即保護學術自由並為所有學生提供安全的空間發表意見。
5. 要求香港警方立即停止所有警察暴行,立即將實施暴力行為的人員停職,並在必要時對違反法律的人員提起法律訴訟。
6. 要求香港政府就自2019年6月起於多次抗議活動中使用之武力問題成立獨立調查委員會展開獨立調查,該調查委員會必須由一名公正的法官主持。我們特別認為,該獨立調查委員會必須有權召集證人、收集連貫且具有代表性的證據,並獨立驗證警察的記錄,比現時獨立監察警方處理投訴委員會(監警會)的權力限制及範圍更廣。
我們堅定地與香港人站在一起,並作出聲援。我們認為捍衛學術自由、言論自由、新聞自由、集會和結社自由,以及保護學生安全是所有人的普世價值。