A front-page advertisement on Apple Daily on Saturday carries a comic illustration of a man in black standing in the middle of a city street holding an open yellow umbrella. The title reads: “I will stay in Hong Kong and continue to,” followed by a blank space.

The ad marks the second anniversary of one of Hong Kong’s key demonstrations in 2019 anti-extradition bill protests, when the city reeled from volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets fired in fierce police-protester clashes.

Several people have responded to the ad, one of them being jailed League of Social Democrats activist Figo Chan, who was in May sentenced to 18 months for organizing an unauthorized rally on Oct. 1 that year.

“I will stay in Hong Kong, and continue to fight,” he said through a friend who visited him in prison.

Chow Hang-tung, vice chair of an alliance that organized the city’s annual June 4 vigil to remember the 1989 Beijing Tiananmen crackdown, said she would continue “to be myself.”

Police arrested Chow on the morning of the 32nd anniversary for allegedly advertising or publicizing an unauthorized assembly. She was released on bail and had not been charged.

In the aftermath of her arrest, Chow struck a humble note as people praised her for being brave and willing to speak the truth. She said: “I always feel a little ashamed, because the way I see it, I’m just doing what I’ve always done and saying what I really want to say.”

In such “abnormal times,” people should persist in being themselves and resist getting warped by the circumstances. It was “the smallest yet most important thing” one could do, she continued.

Sha Tin district councillor Raymond Li echoed a similar sentiment, saying he would continue “to do my part.”

“What should one do at this time? I believe it’s a question that no one can answer,” Li wrote on social media. He vowed to carry on doing his part, by following his beliefs and intuition to head in what he felt would be the right direction.

While persistence and determination was key, he also urged others to take care of themselves so they could be in the best condition and be ready to face the future.

Li was arrested last year on suspicion of disorder in public places during a rally that May against a national anthem bill and the then looming national security law.

On Saturday, two years to the day major street clashes broke out, scores of police officers descended on a main road in Causeway Bay, acting on online calls for protesters to gather to mark the anniversary. Police carried out stop-and-search checks of people dressed entirely in black.

Up to the evening, no demonstrators were apparent. It was a stark contrast to two years prior when the fighting was particularly intense near government headquarters in Admiralty, with police responding with rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets to the tens of thousands who had massed in protest.

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