Written by Jobert Leong

On the night of October 18th 2019, the lyrics of the protest anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ resounded along the banks of the Shing Mun River, sung by people from all walks of life joined together hand-in-hand in a human chain.

This was a scene that illustrated what the anti-extradition law amendment bill movement had become over four months of continuous protesting by the citizens of Hong Kong, during which it had morphed into a movement calling for police and government accountability.

United in their anger over perceived injustices committed by a government and police force that were sworn to protect and serve Hong Kong citizens, the denizens of Sha Tin district convened near the central waterway of Shing Mun River to voice their discontent at those in power. 

An online post (pictured) rallied people to form human chains that stretched all over Hong Kong, in a mirror display of what happened on August 23rd and September 19th, the chain in Sha Tin alone stretching from Che Kung Temple Station to Yuen Wo Road Sports Center, close to the beating heart of Sha Tin.

Those assembled wore masks in defiance of the controversial anti-mask law, passed on October 3rd in response to protesters’ ‘black bloc’ tactics, including wearing all black clothing and using masks to prevent identification from law enforcement using facial recognition technology, 

The anti-mask bill circumvented Hong Kong’s rule of law by being passed with the colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinance, which allowed Chief Executive Carrie Lam to sidestep approval from the Legislative Council and pass it directly.

Outside Exit B of Che Kung Temple Station, people passed out masks depicting characters such as No Face from Spirited Away, Guy Fawkes (popularized as a symbol of protest by V for Vendetta), Pepe the Frog (a symbol of the protestors’ resistance), and Winnie the Pooh (a derogatory nickname for Chinese President Xi Jinping over their alleged similarities), while encouraging passersby to wear the masks and join the chain. Near the mask ‘shop’ people set up a speaker blaring ‘Glory to Hong Kong’.

Walking along the chain, the people present were in high spirits as they shouted out protest slogans which included: 

• 香港人 反抗 - Hongkongers, resist

• 五大訴求 缺一不可 - Five demands, not one less

• (spoken in English)  Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong

• 光復香港 時代革命 - Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times

• 解散警隊 刻不容緩 - Disband the police force, no time to delay

• 沒有暴徒 只有暴政 - No rioters, only tyranny

• 721 唔見人 831 打死人 101 槍殺人 - No police appeared on July 21st, police beat people to death on August 31st, police used a gun to kill on October 1st

The bike path along the Shing Mun river was used by enterprising bike riders to encourage others and spread the chorus of Glory to Hong Kong across the riverbanks via speakers strapped to their bikes.

Though this event was announced with little fanfare only a few days prior on social media channels, this did not stop reporters from getting wind of what was happening and filming the entire length of the human chain, which was steadily growing as the night went on. As more people inserted themselves in, people told each other to move forward and make space for others to join in, which helped to lengthen the chain as well.

To help coordinate the event organisers walked across the length of the chain carrying a laptop with a schedule showing what to do starting from 8pm onwards on the screen.

Even though people started assembling before the planned starting time of 8 pm, the first main event of the night happened at 8:15 pm, when the entire chain joined in singing Glory to Hong Kong. At precisely 8:31 pm, the phone flashlights that previously illuminated the chain’s entire length all shut down as people stood in silence for five minutes to remember the victims of an attack on August 31st, when riot police attacked civilians on an MTR train at Prince Edward station.

Once the moment of silence had ended, people immediately continued chanting energetically as a drone flew overhead along the length of the Shing Mun river, capturing the events of the night for future reference. Flashlights turned on again at 8:45 pm as people sang ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’ from Les Miserables, another popular protest anthem, while a member of the human chain cried, “Hongkongers are out in full force!”

Those six words expressed demonstrators’ belief that the movement is not just spearheaded by frontline protestors, but that the ordinary people of Hong Kong support them, giving the movement legitimacy among citizens and bolstering its numbers.

At 9 pm, Glory to Hong Kong was played one last time as people shouted “Carrie Lam, go to hell!”, condemning the city’s incumbent Chief Executive who instigated the protests with her proposed extradition law amendment bill. With a few more shouts of “See You at Tsim Sha Tsui” (two days later on Sunday October 20th), where a massive protest was planned to occur, and “I have the right to wear a mask,'' the human chain was unofficially ‘dismissed’ at 9:10 pm after people told each other to say safe.