The Anti-China Graffiti Left Behind By Hong Kong Protesters: In Pictures

(Bloomberg) -- The images of July 1, 2019, left an indelible mark on Hong Kong. After hundreds of thousands of protesters peacefully marched on the anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China, a small group broke into the Legislative Council, ransacking and vandalizing the chamber before police chased them off with tear gas. They left behind messages.

The graffiti painted on the walls of the defaced chamber -- some in Chinese, some in English -- help explain the deep social and political divides underpinning this summer’s protests in Hong Kong. The separatist, anti-China -- and at times desperate -- slogans show the challenge Beijing faces in trying to quiet dissent in the Asian financial center.

Here are some of the messages they left in the legislative complex:

The portraits at the center of the chamber are of Police Commissioner Stephen Lo, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng and Security Secretary John Lee. Protesters have been demanding Lam’s resignation and Lo has been criticized for police reaction after a similar attempt to storm the legislature on June 12. Painted on the wall is the slogan “Release the righteous fighters.” Other slogans say: “There are no rioters, only tyranny” and “Carrie Lam step down.” Also painted is: “Sunflower HK,” a reference to the 2014 Sunflower movement in Taiwan when a group of students wary of Chinese influence occupied parliament. The message shows how Beijing’s critics in both places are drawing inspiration from each other.

Painted on the pillar amid the rubble of the chamber in Chinese is what translates to: “It is you who taught me that peaceful marches are useless,” referring to protesters’ frustration that government officials had not acceded to their demands after as many as 2 million people, by the organizers’ count, demonstrated earlier in June. It’s a sentiment that suggests protests could get more violent.

A phrase that translates to: “This murderous administration is not my government” is painted on the wall. Lam’s government sparked the crisis by backing a proposal that would have allowed extraditions to China, which many in Hong Kong view as a way to limit the “high degree of autonomy” that the Basic Law promises to preserve for 50 years after the 1997 handover.

Police stand together after the chamber is cleared, with “HK Is Not China” painted on the pillar behind them, contradicting the Basic Law’s assertion that the city “is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China.” The defaced legislative chamber is home to the only democratically elected legislature under China’s control.

On the wall above the seats in the chamber is the phrase, “The heavens will destroy the Chinese Communist Party.” Anger at Beijing has grown in Hong Kong with Lam’s extradition proposal, which is one in a series of moves by the Communist-controlled government that are viewed at restricting Hong Kong’s autonomy. In China, a similar comment could result in a lengthy prison sentence.

On the wall is written in English: “China will pay for its crimes against Uighur Muslims.” It is a reference to China’s crackdown on an ethnic minority in the country’s far west. The United Nations says as many as 1 million Uighurs are being held in detention camps in the region of Xinjiang, a number disputed by Chinese authorities. The message will likely stoke Communist Party fears about its various domestic critics finding common ground.

Several portraits of past Legislative Council presidents were destroyed and removed from the wall, including those of Rita Fan, the first president after the 1997 handover, Jasper Tsang and current president Andrew Leung, a regular target of protesters’ ire. What’s interesting is the ones they sparred: John Swaine (far right), and Andrew Wong (left) -- who served in the last years of colonial rule.

With a view of the Hong Kong’s sparkling skyline, the Chinese graffiti reads: “Face the people.” From the start of the demonstrations, protesters have called for Lam and government officials to scrap the extradition policy and address their concerns. While she has promised to be more “open and inclusive” in governing, she condemned the storming of the chamber, saying “nothing is more important than the rule of law in Hong Kong.”

--With assistance from Justin Chin.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jodi Schneider in Hong Kong at jschneider50@bloomberg.net;Elaine To in Hong Kong at eto11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, ;Maria Wood at mwood45@bloomberg.net, Karen Leigh

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