Over 100 people gathered for a rally and a flash protest in Los Angeles on Sunday, to support the 47 democracy advocates who are charged with subversion under the national security law.

Lam, the spokesperson of Hong Kong Forum, Los Angeles, a co-organizer of the event, said the rally was held at Santa Monica in hopes that more would understand the political persecution faced by dissidents in Hong Kong.

“We picked a tourist spot to bring the issue of Hong Kong beyond the Chinese community,” said Lam. “Many tourists came to ask what was happening in Hong Kong and we shared channels where they can subscribe to information about Hong Kong. This is very encouraging.”

Justine, a Hongkonger in Los Angeles who joined the march, said the coronavirus pandemic has prevented many residents from returning to the city. “It is the least Hongkongers abroad can do to help those in Hong Kong. If we don’t help our own people, we will be on our own,” she said.

There are also participants from Taiwan and mainland China. “Hong Kong and Taiwan are under an unprecedented threat from the Chinese Communist Party,” said Tony Lee, head of the Formosan Association for Human Rights. Beijing’s growing crackdown on Hong Kong is the prelude to a repetition of the 228 Incident in Taiwan, the Kuomintang’s bloody massacre of civilians in 1947.

Meanwhile in San Francisco, nearly 200 people participated in a rally outside the Chinese Embassy organized by the U.S. Hongkongers Club. “Many Hongkongers and their supporters around the world are taking action, demanding the release of the 47 activists. We hope to do our part, voicing out against the mass arrests,” said the convenor.

The prosecution of the activists is absurd and motivated by political agenda, he added. The mass arrest and prosecution are used to remove threats to the CCP’s one-party rule, he stressed.

“The CCP may use a chilling effect to control speech. But we, who are residing in countries with freedom of speech, will continue to speak against the regime and expose its crime against universal values,” said the spokesperson of the group.

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