Opinion | Give Hong Kong democracy: do you hear the angry people sing?

Have you heard the people sing? I have, lots of times. Not the one from Les Misérables or the national anthem that millions sang across China on October 1 to mark its 70th National Day. The one I have heard is the home-grown Glory to Hong Kong, composed anonymously and fine-tuned by netizens.

If you think such an online job can’t possibly be meaningful, you’re wrong. The tune, lyrics, and video capture perfectly the spirit of the political movement rocking Hong Kong. That movement reached its bloodiest yet two days ago.

I was covering the protests. Never had I seen such seething anger on the streets of Hong Kong. The city had the feel of a war zone combined with martial law. This is what I wrote on June 27: “Bricks, sharpened poles, sieges, rubber bullets, and tear gas today. What next? Burning cars, bombs, shattered shop windows, and real police bullets in response? Let’s not even go there.” We went there two days ago.

This is what I wrote on August 8: “Even if the protests fade without the government meeting at least some of the protesters’ five demands, it will be like lava settling back in a volcano. Sooner or later, that volcano will erupt again. Who’s to say it won’t happen on October 1?” It happened.

The most striking line in Glory to Hong Kong is, “Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times”, coined by the now-jailed activist Edward Leung Tin-kei. Loyalists condemn it as seditious. But, taken in context, the lyrics don’t advocate the overthrow of the government or independence.

It’s simply a cry for freedom. I interpret the anti-government movement as a rebellion to liberate Hong Kong from Beijing’s ever-tightening leash. That’s not the same as an independence revolution.

A cry for freedom? But Hong Kong’s freedoms are intact. That’s what loyalists insist. They are on ever-thinning ice. Let me tell you a tale of two freedom standards.