On the anniversary of the anti-extradition movement, Carrie Lam shamelessly said everyone, including government officials and lawmakers, should learn lessons from it. Not a bit of regret from her was witnessed. After a year, Lam and communist China have rather opted for an even more arrogant stance, and forcing through the national security law high-handedly.

In fact, communist China is approaching the current deadlock in Hong Kong in the same way as they did during the June 4 Incident. This basically consists of three consecutive tactics. First is to resort to violent oppression. By means of unchecked police brutality and the Hong Kong version of national security law, public protests are ruthlessly repressed and opposition voice is suppressed and prohibited. What follows is the divide tactic. Communist China will try to deceive Hong Kong people and the international community that all the evil laws and drastic measures are just pinpointing and applying to an extremely limited number of criminals, quibbling that everything is working in accordance with law. Actually, all will open the door to speech crimes and unwarranted prosecutions, which will ultimately undermine Hong Kong as a free and open society. And the final step is brainwash. There will be tightening control over education and the media, which aims at molding our beliefs and destroying our memories.

Just a few days ago, Zhang Xiao-ming, deputy director of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, launched a new round of criticism of the education and media sectors of Hong Kong. He blamed anti-Chinese and anti-communist forces for politicizing the Hong Kong society, obstructing the introduction of national education and creating negative media coverages about China. He went further to define the aims of all these as destabilizing Hong Kong, overthrowing the ruling authority and subverting communist leadership. Indeed, Zhang’s comments are nothing more than a typical sophistry of communist China, trying to distort the truths and secure stability at all costs. In order to sustain its ruling, the communist regime is ready to destroy and abandon whatever values or institutions on its path.

In fact, communist China is taking a gamble on Hong Kong people’s propensities: our persistence, our resilience and our memory. They just bet Hong Kong people will give in as time goes by, and will subdue after calculation.

However, in view of Hong Kong people’s unwavering and persistent stance on memorizing the June 4 Incident, perhaps communist China has underestimated our resolve. For 31 years, our passion has been living on.

In fact, both the June 4 Incident and the anti-extradition protest can be viewed as a struggle between forgetting and memorizing. To deal with the oppression, we have to be determined and be prepared for a prolonged fighting. What’s more, we have to keep speaking up, making full use of different local and international platforms and conveying our beliefs and messages via education, media, cultural activities and any other possible channels. We have to make ourselves heard. Last but not least, we have to organize ourselves and gather strengths. Individuals form groups and groups combine into organizations. Then we can act and influence as one collective force. The forming of the yellow economic circle serves as a perfect example of this.

Back in the days of British rule, communist China also developed their red economic circle, consisting of China products department stores, clinics and later extending to banking and telecommunication business. This used to act as a counterweight to the colonial authority, and today, it has turned into part of the communist ruling machine. To stand against this, we must go further to open up new yellow fronts, like yellow cultural circle, yellow education circle and more.

After a year, though things have been getting worse, the spirit, courage and wisdoms of Hong Kong people will last forever. And ultimately, glory will be to Hong Kong! There is no rioter here, only tyrant! Five demands, not one less!

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