Robert Chiu, the person in charge of the event, said that on the opening day, April 4, one middle-aged Chinese woman strode to the event venue, took pictures of the contents on display, and then left. A few hours later, the organizer learned that the management of Rag Market, the venue for the exhibits, had received a complaint that requested the content on one of the racks be shielded on the grounds that “it contained politically sensitive words and violated the venue’s general principle of political neutrality.”
The three parts that they demanded to “fig leaf” include: 1. “Connecting Hong Kong people and working together to fight for democracy and freedom;”
2. “Show the world what Hong Kong people have experienced in 2019, and hope they will support and join us after knowing the truth;” and
3. “Let the people in Hong Kong know that we have not forgotten it.”
Mr. Chiu believes that the incident was driven by forces targeting the people of Hong Kong, using the Rag Market’s complaint mechanism to suppress them.
Birmingham HongKongers later sent an email to the local government and the person in charge of Rag Market, the exhibition venue, requesting that the incident be investigated. As of now, it has received an email autoreply from it saying it will respond to the inquiries within five working days.
Birmingham HongKongers stated on social media that as a free and democratic country, the UK government should protect people’s freedoms of speech and assembly in all aspects of life, and the organization will continue to speak out through different channels.
Mr. Chiu, the organizer of the event, said that he hopes to use this exhibition to showcase Hong Kong culture to local people, promote the integration of Hong Kong people and the local community, reduce conflicts in everyday contact, and enhance mutual acceptance.
Mr. Chiu shared his experience from this exhibition with us. He was able to meet many local people during this event. Among them was one British native who had worked in Hong Kong for 20 years. He returned to Hong Kong last year to visit his friends who are retired there and discuss the current situation in Hong Kong with them. He said that in a lot of those discussions, his friends said they remain reticent about what the government does and says. They behave as if they did not see or hear it, in a state of indifference.”
Local Brummy’s Surprise: Still Able to Access Hong Kong Culture
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Ben, a local of Birmingham, said that he is extremely interested in Hong Kong culture. “Especially the action movie series, such as the fighting scenes in “Young and Dangerous,” as well as the scene of Hong Kong in the 1990s, are all his favorites.” He said that in the past, he often traveled around the world and visited Hong Kong. He said he was happy to be able to continue to be exposed to Hong Kong culture even in Birmingham in the UK.
Diaspora Hongkongers: Can Make More Local People Care About Situation in HK
Tommy, a Hongkonger, said that he participated in the exhibition because he wanted to recall his memories of Hong Kong. Even in those good old days, he also realized the “intimate” connection between Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. “For example, you could find lots of common items in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Hong Kong has the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and there is also a Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the UK; the vintage buses in Hong Kong and those in the United Kingdom are also the same models.” He believes that these similarities will help the people of Hong Kong to adapt more easily to the UK.
He said that the exhibition was held in a market that locals often passed by, which would help attract local residents to come. “Locals live in smaller circles, and it is not as easy for them to care about what happens outside the UK. This event allows them to acknowledge there is a place remarkably similar and linked quite intimately with the UK, a place called Hong Kong...”
