Pro-democracy groups get crafty in Occupy Central aftermath
Organisers of a craft market held yesterday in two small rooms in a Wan Chai tower block said they hoped to continue the message of the Occupy Central protests.
Organisers of a craft market held yesterday in two small rooms in a Wan Chai tower block said they hoped to continue the message of the Occupy Central protests.
The Yellow Market was organised by artists who believe their works, including yellow brass ribbons, will prompt citizens to continue the fight for democracy.
"People might think the umbrella revolution is a full stop, but to me it's more like a comma, there's more coming," said visual artist Yeung Sau-lun, who hosted the market in his studio.
The market is among the ways pro-democracy supporters are trying to keep the movement alive, including the "shopping", or , crowds in Mong Kok.
Next door to Yeung's studio, a group calling on residents to burden the tax office by paying income tax using multiple cheques provided rubber stamps to ease the process.
"This is a way people can express their anger and delay and overburden the government with paperwork to achieve universal suffrage," said organiser Franklen Choi, a community college lecturer.
Stamps on offer included the number 689, the number of votes cast to elect Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in 2012.
Raymond Kwong, 50, has already used home-made stamps to split his tax bill into 2,500 cheques of HK$1 or $2 each.
"To speed up the process I deliberately went to the bank to change my signature to a simpler one," he said.
On the other side of the debate, Robert Chow Yung, a founder of the Silent Majority for Hong Kong and spokesman for the Alliance for Peace and Democracy, said the groups, which opposed Occupy Central, would meet soon to discuss their next steps. "I think we will not fade away," he said.
"But as to exactly what we will be doing, it will take a week or so until we come to agreement on how we will proceed."
Another group formed by Umbrella Movement volunteers, Umbrella Blossom, also seeks to continue the movement's spirit. It will organise community outreach every two weeks and visit small shops regularly.
The 28th of every month will be "yellow day", with different events to be planned.
The group will set up a street counter in Sham Shui Po today. "We will teach people how to make umbrella art and call upon people to register as voters," spokeswoman Lau Sau-yin said.
