Taipei exhibition documents pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong

Taipei, April 6 (CNA) The second edition of the Hong Kong Human Rights Art Exhibition, aimed at raising public awareness of the ongoing struggles for democracy and freedom of Hong Kong activists, is being held at the National 228 Memorial Museum in Taipei.

A press conference was held Sunday to announce the launch of the exhibition. Among the event's attendees were museum director Na Su-phok (藍士博), human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲), New School for Democracy leader Lai Jung-wei (賴榮偉) and members of the Hong Kong Outlanders, a group formed by young Hong Kong democracy activists in Taiwan during the 2019 protests against the extradition bill in Hong Kong.

"It is unfathomable how freedoms in Hong Kong have degraded," a Hong Kong Outlanders member identified as "Futong" (赴湯) said at the press conference.

"Hopefully, through this exhibition, people will know better than to take democracy and freedom for granted, reflect upon Taiwan's democracy and freedom, and not allow it to become the next Hong Kong,' he said.

Futong said he hoped Hong Kongers would visit the exhibition and that they would not give up hope even though the road ahead is dark and challenging.

Hong Kong Outlanders chairman Sky Fung (馮紹天) said Hong Kongers who have migrated to Taiwan, like himself, did not do so because they wanted to avoid the situation in Hong Kong, but rather because Taiwan is a land of freedom where they could team up with Taiwanese citizens to oppose China.

As well as photos and paintings exhibited on the third floor of the museum, letters written by discharged activists and political prisoners in Hong Kong, written during their incarceration, are also on display, telling the story of Hong Kong from different perspectives.

"An Apple a Day," one of the highlights of the show, is an apple made from a copy of the June 24, 2021 edition of Apple Daily published on the day the newspaper signed off after the Hong Kong government found it in violation of the National Security Law and arrested its founder, media tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英), as a cautionary reminder of a voice silenced.

The exhibition, which opened on April 1, runs until June 29.