Hong Kong academics, community leaders start ‘apolitical’ NGO to support young people arrested over anti-government protests
- Project Change was formed after academics noticed many of their students were among those arrested
- Group provides counselling, emotional and legal support to those arrested and their family members
About 180 have received help so far from Project Change, which was set up last year and describes itself as apolitical, law-abiding and willing to reach out to young people regardless of their political stance.
“For Project Change, we walk with you, whatever conditions there are,” said Pauline Sung Chan Po-lin, founding director of the project and a clinical fellow at the Asian Academy of Family Therapy.
“Our principle is we work with the individual, his family, his network – not according to my agenda, but his agenda.”
The group was set up in June last year after about 6,400 people under 25 years old were arrested between June 2019 and the end of February 2020, according to official figures.
It aims to help the 5,000 young people among them facing trial or awaiting investigations to be completed. Those under 25 made up almost half of the 10,200 arrested.