Hong Kongers are finding creative ways to voice dissent after Beijing blanketed the city in a new security law and police began arresting people displaying now forbidden political slogans. Faced with the sudden threat of prosecution for anything that might promote greater autonomy or independence for the restless city, residents are using word play and even subverting Chinese Communist Party dogma to express their frustration. On a bridge in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay, a key spot for prodemocracy protests over the past year, traffic thunders past newly daubed graffiti that declares: "Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves".
The phrase is taken from the first line of China's national anthem. And while the graffiti could conceivably have been written by a patriotic nationalist, it is most likely a declaration of dissent. Social media and chat forums have filled with suggestions for how to find safer ways to protest after Beijing on Tuesday imposed broad legislation banning subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion. In a semi-autonomous city used to speaking its mind, people will find ways around the law, said Chan Kin-man, a veteran democracy activist who has previously been jailed for his activism.
"In a public space, one might either not say anything or use an 'officially-approved' language to protect themselves," he told AFP. "But hidden language is something that cannot be banned by laws." The local government on Thursday said the popular protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" would now be deemed illegal. For some the phrase represents genuine aspirations to split Hong Kong from China, a red line for Beijing, but for many others it is a more general cry for democracy and an expression of rising frustration with Chinese rule. But coded language is allowing people to keep the slogan alive.
One version "GFHG, SDGM" uses English letters from the transliterated phrase "gwong fuk heung gong, si doi gak ming". Another more complex example mimics the tone and rhythm of the slogan using the numbers "3219 0246" in Cantonese. Chinese characters themselves also provide ample room for linguistic subversion. One phrase people have started adopting online is "seize back banana", a play on the similar characters in traditional Chinese for Hong Kong and banana.
Others have gone for English slogans that appear positive but are a clear dig at Beijing -- for example the Trumpian phrase "Make Hong Kong Great". The very first arrest made under the new security law involved a deliberate linguistic challenge.
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