The Defiance Podcast

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Democratic Crisis in Hong Kong | Denise Ho

Peter McCormack

Interview | Description | Timestamps | Show Notes

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Defending Democracy in Hong Kong | Denise Ho Peter McCormack

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Location: New York
Date: Wednesday, Oct 23rd 2019
Role: Hong Kong singer, pro-democracy and LGBTQI activist

Hong Kong has a complicated political history, which must be understood to understand the current protests.

For 156 years, Hong Kong was under British rule, but on June 1st 1997, it was returned to Chinese sovereignty. As part of the handover negotiations, it was agreed that Hong Kong would operate under ’one country, two systems', a principal outlined in The Basic Law. The treaty agreed between China and Britain would maintain the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong for 50 years.

In 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress proposed reforms to the Hong Kong electoral system. These proposed changes were seen by many as oppressive and allow the pre-screening of political candidates by the Chinese Communist Party. As such, the people of Hong Kong recognised the changes as anti-democratic and a clear indication that Hong Kong had failed to achieve universal suffrage, outlined under Basic Law.

What followed was a series of protests, often referred to as the Umbrella Revolution. Starting in September 2014 protesters demonstrated outside government buildings and brought the city to a standstill by occupying many key intersections which remained closed to traffic for 77 days. Police intervened, and their use of excessive force, tear gas and the brutality shown to protesters led to a backlash from the citizens and escalating tensions. 

Denise Ho, a Cantopop star and human rights activist, was an active supporter of the Umbrella Revolution. During the protests, Denise and a group of high profile demonstrators were arrested. For this and her action of speaking out against the Chinese authoritarian regime, the Chinese government blacklisted Denise.

In 2019, Hong Kong again witnessed mass protests in response to the Hong Kong governments extradition bill. Extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China would put residents at risk of facing the Chinese justice system and thus a tool to suppress political opposition. 

Following months of violent protests, the Chinese government formally withdrew the Extradition Bill on October 23rd. While this appeared to outsiders as a victory for the people of Hong Kong, demonstrations are ongoing as protestors are seeking further protection of their rights:

  • The government to withdraw the use of the word "riot" instead of protest

  • Amnesty for protesters

  • An independent commission enquiry into police brutality

  • Universal suffrage

In this interview, I speak to Denise Ho, a singer, LGBTQI activist and pro-democracy campaigner from Hong Hong. We discuss the Umbrella Movement, the extradition bill protests, and how this has impacted the world.

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  • 00:00 - Show Intro

  • 01:54 - Welcoming Denise to the show

  • 02:15 - Withdrawal of the extradition bill

  • 03:33 - Denise's background

  • 08:33 - Coming out as a member of the LGBTQ community

  • 09:37 - The transition from musician to activist

  • 11:51 - The Umbrella Movement

  • 16:47 - Denise's arrest during the Umbrella Movement protests

  • 19:17 - Being blacklisted by the Chinese government

  • 26:19 - The current protests in Hong Kong

  • 27:57 - Other protests around the world

  • 34:51 - The creative tactics used by the protesters

  • 37:32 - People being shot as protests escalate

  • 40:18 - The protester's demands

  • 44:14 - Denise's view on Hong Kong's future

  • 46:56 - Denise's work with the Human Rights Foundation

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Connect with Denise:

More about the Hong Kong protests:

Mentioned in the show:

People mentioned in the show:

THANK YOU TO MY SPONSOR

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