fw.to/O5pi7rL 【The Telegraph】 Hong Kong protesters adopt new weapon: Christmas carols Protesters campaigning for greater democracy in Hong Kong sing subversive Christmas carols By Ellie Ng, Hong Kong 8:35AM GMT 22 Dec 2014 For months, Hong Kong protesters paralysed the city, camping on the streets, blocking traffic and waving yellow umbrellas. Now, after police finally managed to clear them away, the protesters have donned Father Christmas hats and are gathering to sing subversive carols. On Friday and Saturday, a group of around 200 people serenaded shoppers in Hong Kong’s busiest streets. “Everyone has head injuries and bloody limbs,” they sang in Cantonese, to the tune of O Come All Ye Faithful. “Evil police angrily wave their batons, hoping to kill a few pedestrians!” To the tune of Hark the Herald Angels Sing they noted that Hong Kongers were angry at proposals from Beijing for the next election and urged the public to “stay united and stand up to the Chinese Communist Party”. The carol singers were organised by the Narrow Church, a politically active Christian church, and were closely followed by around 100 policemen, who occasionally warned them to stay on the pavement. “We wanted to raise morale and remind people that the democracy protests are still going, said Tam Tak-Chi, a comedian and a minister of the Narrow Church. He added that he feared that Beijing’s interference in Hong Kong “will only get worse in the coming years […] so we must keep putting direct pressure on the authorities.” Since the end of the 79-day occupation of downtown Hong Kong earlier this month, activists have organised sudden road blocks and tried to temporarily blockade the luxury fashion boutiques that are popular among mainland Chinese tourists. There are more plans for Christmas Day, when Denise Ho, a popular singer who has taken part in the protests, will help to organise carols in the three main sites in Hong Kong that were occupied by protestors. Meanwhile, Times Square has cancelled this year’s New Year’s Eve countdown, fearing disruption. “We will be back right here on Christmas Eve,” announced Mr. Tam to more than 300 bystanders and nervous security guards at Times Square on Saturday night. “We will count down the days until CY Leung steps down as well as tell the world our Christmas wish: genuine universal suffrage.”
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 18:01:31 +0000
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