Thousands of secondary school students have pledged to go on strike today, while a city-wide general strike is also planned.
A student of Po Lam Kuk Secondary School who wishes not to be named waits in protest gear outside Hang Hau MTR station.Student concern groups from more than 90 secondary schools have said they would boycott classes today, the first day of school for many local institutions. Around 3,000 - 4,000 students have said they would participate in the strike, but the Hong Kong Secondary Strike Alliance, which has organised the boycotts, has said they will leave it up to students to decide how they wish to protest. In addition, a city-wide general strike is also planned; the previous one occurred on August 5 and lead to widespread transport problems and clashes within the city.
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[Update: Monday - 6:22pm]
CUHK student leader Jacky So said an estimated 30,000 turned up during the peak of the peaceful rally - more than doubled the attendance of a similar event in 2014 that came before the Occupy protests.
“It clearly shows various sectors, that secondary and tertiary students are dissatisfied with the government,” So said.
So added students had made use of aerial photos to estimate the turnout.
Should the government make no response in two weeks’ time, So said students make continue the class boycott and escalate their actions.
For more updates, head to scmp.com.
[Update: Monday - 6:15pm]
Organisers of the rally at Edinburgh Place said over 4,000 students from at least 230 schools attended the rally today.
[Update: Monday - 3:49pm]
More than 200 students from six local secondary schools in Chai Wan and Siu Sai Wan built a human chain in Siu Sai Wan to protest the extradition bill and to show solidarity for the class boycott movement.
Students from Christian Nationals' Evangelism Commission Lau Wing Sang Secondary School, the Methodist Church Hong Kong Wesley College, the Chinese Foundation Secondary School, Fukien Secondary School (Siu Sai Wan), Lingnan Hang Yee Memorial Secondary School and Precious Blood Secondary School first gathered at 2.30 pm at a football court in the Siu Sai Wan Promenade. They then moved to Siu Sai Wan Road at around 14:55.
They kept chanting slogans such as “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time” and “five demands, not one less” as they moved along the street. Many residents around the area also joined in to form the chain with the students.
A Form Six student surnamed Wong from CFSS, who did not wish to reveal her full name for fear of being punished by her school, said she’s been very involved in all the legal protests since June.
Although she’s taking the HKDSE this year, she did not think her participation in the social movement will affect her study.
“I think they’re two different things. I sacrifice my spare time to protest. But I still spend most of my time studying for the upcoming exams and fullfill my responsibilities as a student ,” said Wong. “They’re not mutually exclusive.”
Another Form Three student from Wesley College, surnamed Sum, said witnessing the violence outbreak outside the government complex on June 12 triggered him to voice his feelings of discontent towards the governemnt.
“That was the first time I got teargassed, my tears just streamed down uncontrollably and I felt this really strong irritation in my throat and nose,” he recalled.
Although he felt that the police had used excessive force against protesters, he said “it’s not their children’s fault.” There has been at least one report of a police officer's child facing bullying at school.
“Bullying is not necessary at all, it’ll only cause more harm to the innocent,” he said.
[Update: Monday - 3:41pm]
A 15-year-old student named Pang spoke to us at the Edinburgh Place rally.
When asked if he was a frontline protester, Pang said: “If I weren't on the frontline, I wouldn’t be wearing all of this.”
He went on to say “I can’t sleep and can’t eat, my heart is tired.
“Look at the way the police have treated us, with brutality. We can only respond in a radical way.”
[Update: Monday - 3:26pm]
More than 1,000 students are gathered at Chinese University ahead of the official 3.30pm start of the rally planned there.
[Update: Monday - 3:02pm]
[Update: Monday - 2:48pm]
Around 100 students from six secondary schools in Siu Sai Wan and Chai Wan are gathered here at a football court near Siu Sai Wan promenade. They will move to the pedestrian streets when more students arrive and form a human chain later on.
[Update: Monday - 1:45pm]
A 16-year-old Form Five student surnamed Ng said she was inspired to do the same after seeing an older man who was a “moving Lennon Wall” at a previous rally:
“He told me he hopes people will be like him and have the bravery to be a moving Lennon Wall so freedom will blossom everywhere in Hong Kong.”
[Update: Monday - 1:37pm]
“Lots of students are coming here hungry. Fighting for freedom and democracy is the responsibility of our generation but we’ve placed this burden on [the students],” said Duff Li, who is in his twenties and works in the education sector.
Li’s two friends each own a restaurant. They prepared a total of 200 boxes of food, including hamburgers, fries, pork chop buns and sandwiches for rally-goers.
[Update: Monday - 1:14pm]
[Update: September 2 - 12:25pm]
Chief Secretary for Administration, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, together with the Secretary for Security, John Lee; the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Frank Chan Fan; and the Secretary for Education, Kevin Yeung, held a press conference this morning.
During the conference, the government reiterated the importance of law and order and appealed for peace, calling the events of the weekend on the MTR “barbaric” and a threat to the safety of MTR employees and passengers.
Cheung said the government is looking at all relevant laws to control the situation. When asked about using emergency laws to bypass the legislature, he said so far the government has had an open stance on the issue and they have no reply to speculation.
Lee maintained the Hong Kong Police Force “remains Asia’s finest” and complaints can be processed by customary procedures. Yeung also said schools should remain calm and orderly places, and the government hopes students will express their concerns peacefully. Chan appealed for citizens to reject violence, saying they should “cut the mat against violence,” using a Chinese idiom meaning to distance themselves from someone.
[Update: Monday - 12:12pm]
[Update: Monday - 11:58am]
Form 6 Raimondi College students Hailey S, Alice C, Idy Mok and Tomato T rushed to the rally once school ended.
“Students have been participating in the protests since June. But now that summer is over, we can’t be we active,” said Alice.
“We came here on the first day of school because we want to show that we will not put a pause to the movement just because we have school. Students still support the other protesters.”
Tomato said the group printed leaflets to inform younger students about the protests but did not encourage them to boycott classes.
[Update: Monday - 11:45am]
A Form Three student surnamed Ho (right) and his classmate (left), who chose to remain anonymous, claimed to be the first students to arrive at Edinburgh Place at 9:30am.
“Lots of students in our school pretend nothing happened and won’t talk or do anything about the situation,” Ho said. “Those who come out today are already prepared for the risks. If we don’t use our voices, we may never have the chance to do so again.”
Ho hopes Lam’s government will fulfill the five demands and “get rid of all the rogue cops”.
[Update: Monday - 11:39am]
Florence Cheung and some 56 other social workers have come to the Edinburgh Square rally to set up a “tree hole” booth and offer counselling support to students troubled by recent violence on the streets. “Many students may have heated arguments with their parents over the political controversy lately. We are here to listen and talk to them,” Cheung said, adding she has not come across any cases of bullying directed at police officers’ children in her daily work.
[Update: Monday - 11:36am]
Form Six student Billy Chan, 17, from St Paul’s College in Sai Ying Pun, came to the class boycott rally at Edinburgh Square after school ended early on the first day. He said this rally was different from all others. “There are only students here, so it can best represent the voices of young people. I hope adults in this city can listen to us, because any extradition laws passed will affect us the most,” Chan said, “I don’t know how long the class boycott can last, but it may be difficult to go on since students have to go back to their studies.”
[Update: Monday - 10:16am]
A couple of students of Wah Yan College, Kowloon were seen distributing black T-shirts at school entrances on the first day of school, for students to wear over their school uniform, in a show solidarity with protesters of the anti-extradition bill movement and support for the city-wide secondary school class boycott.
They are members of a concern group founded two weeks ago. The group has around 20 active members, ranging from Form Three to Form Six.
Among them was Damon Chan, 17, who handed out black T-shirts to students entering the campus through the main gate before the morning assembly began at 9am. He said students on strike planned to skip the assembly and instead would gather in a student activity centre to discuss the ongoing political crisis, with the aim of letting more students, especially the ones in lower forms, understand the movement more comprehensively.
“It’s depressing to see some schoolmates claim they are politically neutral, but in fact they know very little about the moment, or they only get their information from one or two media. That’s why we want to have a discussion, to stop our peers from being ‘Kong Pigs’,” Damon says.
The class boycott would last for two days, and it has been approved by the school. Students could join as long as their parents have signed a consent form. Damon’s parents were once worried that the strike would affect his studies, but they came around after realising boycott was permitted and would be conducted in a peaceful and rational manner.
The Form Six student added they have urged students not to wear protective gear such as face masks, goggles and helmets in school, to avoid disturbing students who do not wish to take part in the strike.
Brian To, 16, said he would not join the boycott, because he does not agree with the radical actions of some protesters. But the Form Six student added he thinks the government has been incapable of meeting people’s demands.
“I’m neutral, so I won’t join the boycott. Because it is held on campus, I don’t think things would escalate,” Brian says.
[Update: Monday - 9:55am]
In St Francis’ Canossian College, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s alma mater, six students donning yellow helmets, goggles and masks, knelt in front of the school entrance and held placards bearing anti-extradition bill messages. They said they hoped Lam would listen to their voices and agree to the five demands by protesters, including the full withdrawal of the extradition bill.
[Update: Monday - 9:42am]
[Update: Monday - 9:30am]
La Salle alumni, who were supposed to be able to join the student sit-in this morning, were refused entry. As of 9.30am, more than 20 alumni are still gathered outside the school entrance, hoping the school would provide an explanation to the sudden refusal of entry.
Seven police officers arrived the scene at 9.17am, claiming they received complaints from residents in the neighbourhood. An alumnus was asked by one of officers to have his backpack searched, present his ID and provide his mobile number.
[Update: Monday - 9:27am]
[Update: Monday - 8:59am]
Allan Cheng Kwan-kit, principal of Ying Wa College, said the school will provide an assembly hall for student strikers on Tuesday, but has yet to decide on arrangements for next week if the students follow Demosisto’s call to skip classes every Monday.
“Our school takes a neutral and open stance on class boycotts, but urges mutual respect for students holding opposing beliefs,” Cheng said, “I am worried about impact on students’ academics and emotional wellbeing if the class boycott drags on. But my priority is to provide a safe learning environment for all.”
He added the school has not received any bullying cases of children whose parents are police officers.
[Update: Monday - 8:47am]
One of the members from the student concern group at La Salle College, surnamed Yuen, said he wished the rally could show the government that secondary students are concerned about the amendment of the anti-extradition law and the anti-government protests.
"School is more than just a learning environment. As a student, we hope to raise our schoolmates' awareness on the anti-extradition bill movment and put pressure to the government to respond to our five demand and put an end to the police's alleged excessive use of force."
Yuen added that students who refused to attend lessons will be marked for internal records but not punished. They would also be allowed to self-study in silence at the school hall today after the school has checked with their parents on the phone. No accessories related to the movement are allowed on campus.
[Update: Monday - 8:44am]
Samuel Tsang, 18, a Year One student at university, said that he was not aware of the planned strike actions at schools or traffic jams but that he supported protesters if they were not too disruptive, although he chose not to protest due to his parents’ concerns.
“It’s mostly because of my parents — they don’t want me to do anything that would have any consequences,” he said at the Hung Hom bus terminal, as he queued to head to North Point. “I support people expressing their feelings.”
[Update: Monday - 8:19am]
About 40 to 50 La Salle College students arrived at school earlier than usual today to participate in a peaceful sit-in in the school's chapel, while a group of alumni in black tops and masks distributed leaflets at the school entrance.
A Form six student surnamed Lee is one of the students who took part in the sit-in. "I think I can only concentrate on my studies after the government has responded [to our five demands]," said the DSE student, who has been taking part in the anti-government movement since June 9.
He added that even though joining the class boycott would affect his learning progress, he would still do it to prevent himself from having to "work in or contribute to a society whose political system is corrupt."
[Update: Monday - 8:07am]
[Update: Monday - 7:55am]
[Update: Monday - 7:58am]
Some 50 students at Ying Wa College in Sham Shui Po, the oldest secondary school in Hong Kong with 201 years of history, staged a rally outside the school gate on Monday morning.
The group put up posters with anti-government messages and gave out 700 copies of parent’s letter templates for students who want to skip classes.
Leading chants of “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times”, Bowie Tang, a form 6 student and convenor of the school’s anti-extradition bill concern group, said a full walkout from classes will begin on Tuesday, but an estimated 30 students will boycott Monday’s opening ceremony and sit at the basketball court.
“The school only approved our planned class boycott tomorrow at our school hall. But I am willing to take any disciplinary consequences since I am already taking little risks by not standing at the frontline out on the streets today,” said Tang.
Lo Hau-man, parent of a form 6 student in the school and an alumnus himself, said he was here to support his son. “He is old enough to decide for himself whether to skip classes, and he can self-study so I am not worried it will affect his preparation for the public exam this year.”
[Update: September 2 - 7:42am]
Chiu Yuet-lam, a Form-4 student studying at Jockey Club Ti-I College in Fo Tan, said she left home 15 minutes earlier than usual this morning in anticipation of the planned action to disrupt MTR operations.
She was not too worried that her commute may be affected, though, because she "didn't really want to go to school anyway", she said in jest.
About 10 of her classmates will go on strike on Monday, according to Lam.
"It's a good thing that people will express their demands, but I remain neutral on this," she said.
[Update: Monday - 7:39am]
Secondary students from three local schools built a human chain on Chai Wan Road in defiance of the extradition bill on Monday, the official first day of school.
Starting from around 07:00 am, students and alumni from Shau Kei Wan Government School, Shau Kei Wan East Government School and Salesian English School joined hands and formed a disconnected human chain on the 650-metre downward slope leading up to the Eastern Highway.
Most students are wearing a black t-shirt on top of their uniform. Some students also volunteered to distribute bread for those who haven’t had breakfast.
The activity was disrupted by the torrential rain briefly at around 7:15 am.
“We hope more students can be aware of the seriousness of the extradition bill,” said Yannis Ho Tsz-yan, a form six student, also a member of the extradition bill concern group at Shau Kei Wan East government school.
The school didn’t require their parents’ approval for this activity. However, they would like to have a list of the participants so they could provide a place for them to get changed afterwards.
[Update: Monday - 7:23am]