HK universities student unions urge Hongkongers to keep fighting on, after arrest of student activists

立場新聞 2020/07/30 16:51

    Students’ unions of 12 higher institutions in Hong Kong on Thursday (30/7) on issued a joint statement headlined “Resist, however long and hard the road may be - A Letter from Students’ Unions of Higher Institutions to all Hongkongers”, after the convenor and three other members of disbanded pro-independence group Studentlocalism on Wednesday (29/7) night were arrested by officers from the newly-formed National Security Department of the police on suspicion of inciting secession under the city’s new national security law.
    Senior superintendent of the newly-established national security department of the police force Steve Li Kwai-wah said in a press briefing on Wednesday night that three males and one female, aged 16 to 21, had been arrested, adding that each said they were students.
    Without naming them, the police’s national security department said the young people were arrested under the national security law for “organising and inciting secession” by their advocacy of independence. Online images showed Tony Chung Hon-lam, former convenor of Studentlocalism, being taken away in handcuffs in Yuen Long by police officers.
    Students’ unions of 12 local higher institutions released the statement in Chinese and English on Facebook. The English statement is entitled as “Resist, however long and hard the road may be - A Letter from Students’ Unions of Higher Institutions to all Hongkongers” in full. In the statement, the students' unions called the arrest of the student activists “the very first direct home arrest ever since the implementation of the National Security Law on the 30th June”, saying “Hong Kong has fallen into the Era of White Terror.”
    The students’ unions urged “Hongkongers not to connive at the atrocities of the communist regime but to stand up against the oppression by any feasible means.”
    “It is crystal clear that more and more Hongkongers would have to endure the Communist terror,” the unions said. “Hongkongers shall uphold the ‘Be-Water’ spirit and continue to fight on in the darkest times.”
    “Perseverance is vital to winning the war against tyranny,” the statement said.
    “We shall continue defending Hong Kong with hope until widespread of the flames of resistance,” the students’ unions said. “May glory be to Hong Kong.”
    Full Statement of the Students' Unions: 

    Today, the former founder of Studentlocalism, Tony Chung Hon-lam, the former member, Ho Yan-nok, and the former spokesperson, Ho Nok-hang were arrested in their respective residences by police officers from the National Security Department. Reportedly, they were charged with “inciting secession or undermining national unification”. This is the very first direct home arrest ever since the implementation of the National Security Law on the 30th June.

    Hong Kong has fallen into the Era of White Terror. Students’ Unions of Higher Institutions hereby urge Hongkongers not to connive at the atrocities of the communist regime but to stand up against the oppression by any feasible means. To the tyrannical communist puppets, we warn that the world is watching. Any further crimes you commit will not go unseen.

    It is crystal clear that more and more Hongkongers would have to endure the Communist terror. But as Samuel Beckett, an Irish poet, said, “I can’t go on. I will go on.” Hongkongers shall uphold the Be-Water spirit and continue to fight on in the darkest times. In the past year, Hongkongers have fought the battle against tyranny as if it was our last, revealing the Chinese communist regime’s true colour and unearthing its malignant nature. The free world has stood with Hongkongers against Communist aggression. Perseverance is vital to winning the war against tyranny. We shall continue defending Hong Kong with hope until widespread of the flames of resistance. May glory be to Hong Kong.

    The Hong Kong University Students’ Union

    The Provisional Executive Committee, The Student Union of The Chinese University of Hong Kong

    Lingnan University Students’ Union

    City University of Hong Kong Students’ Union

    The Student Union of Hong Kong Shue Yan University

    The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong Students’ Union

    The Open University of Hong Kong Students’ Union

    Tung Wah College Students’ Union

    The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Students’ Union

    The Hong Kong Baptist University Students’ Union Acting-Executive Committee

    The Education University of Hong Kong Students’ Union

    The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Students’ Union

    Sources:
    【鍾翰林被捕】大專學界：信念不滅，抗爭星火終燎原 / 立場報道