The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) was an organisation that focused on the issues of Hong Kong politics and livelihood, affiliated with almost all pan-democratic camps in Hong Kong. It was founded on 13 September 2002 and disbanded on 15 August 2021.
Priscilla Leung Mei-funGBS JP is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, representing the Election Committee since 2022. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. She was a member of Kowloon City District Council.
The New Year marches were a fixture on the political calendar in Hong Kong. Thousands took to the streets demanding universal suffrage as part of the ongoing democratic development as well as to protest against further influence of mainland China in Hong Kong. Lead organiser for marches was the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF). The Front disbanded in August 2021, following accusations by police in April that it was suspected of operating illegally due to not having been registered as organisation; its last remaining spokesperson Figo Chan had been jailed in May in relation to the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests.
In Hong Kong, localism is a political movement centred on the preservation of the city's autonomy and local culture. The Hong Kong localist movement encompasses a variety of groups with different goals, but all of them oppose the perceived growing encroachment of the Chinese central government on the city's management of its own political, economic, and social affairs. While the movement's milder elements advocate for greater autonomy while remaining as part of China, the more radical elements call for a return to British rule or full independence as a sovereign state. Some also advocate for a more aggressive and militant stance against the mainland government in defending local interests. For that reason, they are labelled as "radicals" and "separatists" by the Chinese government. Issues of concern to the localist camp include land use and development, cultural and heritage conservation, parallel trading, and the increasing number of mainland immigrants and mainland tourists. Although grouped together with liberals, they have a distinct view as they advocate for Hongkongers' right to self-determination. In the aftermath of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, localists were largely absorbed into the pro-democracy camp.
Sixtus "Baggio" Leung Chung-hang is a Hong Kong activist and politician. He is the convenor of Youngspiration, a localist political group in Hong Kong that leans towards Hong Kong independence, and is also leader and spokesperson of the pro-independence Hong Kong National Front. He was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong as a member for New Territories East in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election. Triggered by his actions to make an independence political statement during the oath-taking ceremony, he faced a legal challenge from the government and was later stripped of his office by the court on 15 November 2016.
Eddie Chu Hoi-dick is a Hong Kong social activist and politician. He is a member of the Local Action and founder of the Land Justice League which are involved in conservation and environmental movements. He is known for his actions against the demolition of the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier and Queen's Pier in 2006 and 2007 and Choi Yuen Tsuen in 2009 and 2010. He was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election in New Territories West. He resigned from the Legislative Council on 28 September 2020, citing that he would not serve in an "appointed legislature" after Beijing had extended the legislators' terms by a year.
Ventus Lau Wing-hong is a Hong Kong politician. He is the convenor of the Shatin Community Network and the founding convenor of the Community Network Union, an alliance of the localist community groups in different districts. He came to media attention in the 2018 New Territories East by-election and his candidacy was disqualified by the returning officer for his previous pro-Hong Kong independence stance. For his participation in the 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries he was part of a mass arrest on national security charges in January 2021 and remains in jail as of October 2021.
The 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests were a series of demonstrations against the Hong Kong government's introduction of a bill to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance in regard to extradition. It was the largest series of demonstrations in the history of Hong Kong.
The period from March to June 2019 in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests is considered the early stage of the movement. Until the first mass demonstrations in June, protests were focused on the withdrawal of the extradition bill. In June, protesters started to lay out five demands. The additional four demands concerned the reactions of the Hong Kong government and especially, the police to the protests, and called more broadly for full democracy in the city.
Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit is a Hong Kong pro-democracy and LGBT rights activist. He served as a convener for the pro-democracy organisation Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) until October 2020 and serves as a secretary for the LGBT rights organisation Rainbow of Hong Kong. He is a longtime member of the League of Social Democrats. In 2019 he was elected to the Sha Tin District Council by residents of Lek Yuen constituency, but he resigned from this position in July 2021 amidst a government crackdown on pro-democracy councillors.
"Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" is a slogan used by social movements in Hong Kong. The slogan was first used in 2016 by Hong Kong Indigenous spokesman Edward Leung as his campaign theme and slogan for the 2016 New Territories East by-election. He emphasised that anyone could take part in innovation and change regardless of age, hence the use of the phrase "revolution of our times." In the legislative election held later that year, Youngspiration, which was cooperating with Hong Kong Indigenous as Leung was banned from running by the Electoral Affairs Commission, also used the slogan for their campaign.
The 2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was originally scheduled on 6 September 2020 until it was postponed by the government. On 31 July 2020, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that she was invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to postpone the election under the emergency powers granted to her by it, citing the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 cases, adding that the move was supported by Beijing.
Tony Chung Hon-lam is a Hong Kong pro-independence activist. He was the founder and convenor of the localist camp student group Studentlocalism. On 29 July 2020, he became the first political figure to be arrested on suspicion of violating the newly imposed national security law and has also been charged with money laundering and publishing seditious articles.
Figo Chan Ho-wun is a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist who served as convener of the Civil Human Rights Front from October 2020 until his conviction in May 2021, when he was succeeded by Chung Chung-fai. As vice-convener of the organisation Chan and then convener Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, planned major marches during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests. In November 2019, Chan and Emily Lau were awarded the John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service on behalf of the people of Hong Kong during the Halifax International Security Forum. He also is member of the League of Social Democrats.
Few protests took place in December 2020 and there was no large-scale demonstrations in threat of the national security law. The imprisonment of Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam on 2 December aroused attention of the International community.
On 22 February 2021, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, proposed that Hong Kong's governance had to be in the hands of "patriots". Observers considered it possible that the definition of "patriot" would require candidates for public office to embrace the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, as also suggested by Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang; and that this signified a departure from the position that had prevailed since a speech by China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1984.
The city held its first National Security Education Day after the national security law had come into force. Chief Executive Carrie Lam emphasized that the law had helped Hong Kong to emerge from the "dark violence" of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. National Security Committee Adviser Luo Huining also gave a speech. Even very young children were photographed handling toy weapons, which drew criticism.
After the 1 July police stabbing, Hong Kong police and the government characterized the incident as a "lone wolf" terrorist attack. Foreign media saw the stabbing as a sign of a steep decline of the reputation of the police in the eyes of some locals, a process that had begun with the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. They also considered the uncovering of a bomb plot on 5 July as evidence of a polarization in society, and pointed to the influence of diminishing legal ways to voice dissent in the year since the national security law came into effect. At the beginning of the month, the police arrested citizens who posted on the Internet for inciting others to kill the police. Later it persecuted members of the student union of Hong Kong University for having passed a motion, subsequently withdrawn, that had praised the "sacrifice" of the deceased attacker of 1 July.
Returning Valiant was a pro-independence group in Hong Kong. Formed mainly by students under the Hong Kong national security law in 2020, the group called for continuation of protests to "liberate the city".
