Hong Kong protesters are spreading messages in Post-it notes
Supporters of the Hong Kong protesters have spent months covering the city with Post-it notes that send powerful messages of support.
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters are using Post-it notes to spread their message as divisive protests stretch into their third month.
Throughout the city, the notes have become an enduring symbol of rebellion and solidarity with the protesters, who have fought for the past 14 weeks against what they say is the authoritarian creep of the Chinese government.
Protesters began filling the streets of Hong Kong months ago, fighting against a plan that would allow citizens of the city to be extradited to mainland China. The protesters said it was the latest move in a series of many to erode their personal liberties and enforce China’s own authoritarian rule on the nation.
The protests began at the end of March and quickly became a mass movement, with millions of attendees and global support protests by June.
The extradition plan, proposed by Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam, has since been scrapped. But despite this, the protests have continued. After Beijing and Hong Kong’s city leaders took a hard line on protesters, the movement snowballed into a broader campaign, with activists calling for greater democracy in the city, more police accountability and an amnesty for those who have been arrested during protests.
A protest on Sunday featured another massive turnout for a movement that has gripped the semi-autonomous territory, plunging it into a continuing political crisis.
Dense crowds of protesters spent hours slowly filing past the Washington consulate. Many of the protesters were waving US flags, some sang the US national anthem and others held signs calling on US President Donald Trump to “liberate” Hong Kong.
Recently, the Hong Kong Government has been accused of beating at least three protesters to death in continuing clashes. The Government has denied the claims, calling them “irresponsible” rumours.
Meanwhile, protesters continue to spread their messages throughout the city in multiple locations at the city’s Post-it note-covered “Lennon walls”.
The original Lennon Wall dates back to the 1980s — a graffitied wall in Prague with dedicated messages of peace inspired by musician John Lennon. The original wall was painted following Lennon’s assassination in 1980.
Anti-communist protesters took to adding their own messages to the wall in Prague, including Beatles lyrics, and the Communist government were continually irritated by the sight of the politically charged wall.
Hong Kong’s own original Lennon Wall appeared in 2014, coinciding with the city’s Umbrella Movement, a violent pro-democracy protest that lasted for 79 days.
The protesters involved with the Umbrella Movement had demanded a more transparent election process from the government. Umbrellas were used by activists when police began using pepper spray and tear gas against them.
The Lennon Wall appeared in 2014, on a staircase outside the Hong Kong Central Government Complex, in Hong Kong. The stairway leads to the Hong Kong Government’s Legislative Council building.
When anti-extradition bill protests began in 2019, the Lennon Wall reappeared at its former location on the same staircase it had been seen years before. Creators had reportedly been handing out Post-its to passers-by, who assisted with the wall’s creation as early as the beginning of June.
On June 30, the Lennon Wall was defaced by counter protesters after a rally in support of police was held in nearby Tamar Park.
A woman was filmed defacing the wall and yelling at protesters. The wall was reportedly restored later that evening, according to Hong Kong Free Press.
At the beginning of July, a day after protesters had stormed the Hong Kong legislature, the display was cleared by police. At this time, protesters collected the messages that had been at the original Lennon Wall.
They moved the Post-its and dedications to another location, outside the legislature, on a footbridge that leads to the CITIC tower.
Since then, numerous Lennon walls have been spotted all over the city in various districts around Hong Kong. The walls have appeared at the entrances to subway stations and outside schools, according to reports.
Many of the newer walls have been “fortified” with tape and glue as they are constructed. Some notes warn passers-by not to tear down the messages or they will be replaced with “100s more”.
Protesters say the walls are a way for protesters to express themselves. “Lennon walls are our voices,” Jessica, an artist who contributes to the walls, told the BBC. “That’s how we encourage each other.”
A crowdsourced map suggests there are now about 150 Lennon walls throughout Hong Kong. Around the world, a number of the Lennon walls have emerged with people showing solidarity with the protesters, including examples in Brisbane and Hosier Lane in Melbourne. There are also reportedly examples in Chinatown in Manhattan, New York City, Shibuya Station in Japan and in Ontario, Toronto.
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