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‘They want freedom the same way we wanted it’: Cheers and support in Lithuania as Hong Kong embraces the ‘Baltic Way’
- Over 100 supporters joined hands in Lithuania – the way they did 30 years ago – to show solidarity.
- Local lawmaker says Hongkongers ‘at the frontline of fighting for freedom and democracy’
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As tens of thousands of anti-government protesters formed human chains across Hong Kong on Friday, more than 100 supporters joined hands in Lithuania – the way they did 30 years ago – to show solidarity.
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Hong Kong’s demonstration was held on the on the anniversary of the “Baltic Way” in 1989, when 2 million people in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia held hands to form a 680km (1,094-mile) human chain, spanning the three nations to push for independence from the former Soviet Union.
The movement inspired local activists to launch their own version, calling it the “Hong Kong Way.”
Lithuanian lawmaker Mantas Adomenas, the organiser of the Friday rally, said he was 16 years old when he joined the “Baltic Way”. He said he was impressed with Hong Kong’s struggle for liberty and democracy.
I recognised in them the same spirit that was blowing at the Baltic Way
“I went to Hong Kong in 2014, when I witnessed the ‘umbrella revolution’, and once again this year, during the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre,” Adomenas said in a written interview.
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