Hong Kong: Keo Fights for Freedom

welcome to Hong Kong a giant City in Southeast Asia with a unique identity it's a beautiful place where 7.5 million people and over 10 000 tall buildings fit neatly along the South China Sea between jungle covered mountains for most of its history Hong Kong was part of China however during the 1800s and 1900s it was a colony of Great Britain and followed many British Customs its people lived very differently from those living on the mainland under Chinese rule then in 1997 ownership of Hong Kong returned to communist China in freedom of speech began to disappear [Music] this is Keo he lives in one of Hong Kong's many high-rise Apartments Keo plays shooting guard for his Middle School's basketball team and his favorite subject is history outside of school Keo loves playing online video games and follows American professional basketball religiously he and his friends watch and share NBA highlights and they enjoy arguing over who the best players are in most ways Keo is like middle school kids anywhere but because he lives in Hong Kong his life is far from ordinary before Keo was born Hong Kong was ruled by Great Britain and enjoyed many freedoms including freedom of speech the Hong Kong media could publish articles of their choosing entertainment was allowed to cover any topic different opinions were welcome and people were free to gather in groups to demonstrate and protest unpopular government decisions these freedoms seem normal to people living in places like America but they are unusual to the Chinese is governed by the CCP the Chinese Communist party and it tightly monitors and controls what Chinese people say and do because it is communist there is no freedom of speech in China and the CCP gets very upset when citizens disagree with government decisions the Communists control the content of Chinese newspapers magazines TV shows and movies and if a Chinese citizen posts something on social media that the CCP doesn't like there can be serious trouble when the time came for Hong Kong to change ownership from Great Britain back to China both governments knew it would be a difficult transition for the people of Hong Kong so in 1997 an agreement was made called one country two systems the deal stated in return for receiving Hong Kong the CCP would allow freedom of speech to continue there for 50 years until 2047. when the one country two systems agreement was made there was cautious hope if Hong Kong remained a free Society for half a century perhaps it would influence people on the mainland and freedom might spread through China unfortunately those hopes have now mostly vanished Keel lives with his mom Victoria who works in a bookstore and his dad James who until recently was a journalist for 26 years James worked as a political reporter for a popular Hong Kong newspaper and over the years his writings won numerous journalism Awards Keo also has an older brother his name is James Jr but he goes by JJ he's 13 years older than Keo and works in a restaurant JJ had hoped to follow his dad and be a reporter but because of his involvement with political protests he may never get that opportunity beginning in 2012 JJ has regularly been on the front lines of Hong Kong's many political protests back then he was in high school and a fight began over School curriculum the CCP wanted to control what was taught in Hong Kong schools since then there have been enormous demonstrations over the years protesting the ccp's attempts to control the leaders who govern Hong Kong and in response to the CCP making new laws that allowed Hong Kong residents to be arrested and shipped to Mainland China where they are held and tried in court in each case JJ and his fellow protesters have believed that the CCP is failing to honor the one country two systems agreement and for years their demonstrations grew in size and strength unfortunately so too did the ccp's response unlike mainland China it is not illegal for the people of Hong Kong to question the CCP and whole protests and so for the first few years of demonstrations protesters like JJ were allowed to peacefully gather and voice their unhappiness toward the CCP but by the fall of 2014 the CCP was worried that the crowds were too big and Riot police began using physical force and tear gas to break them up in response protesters began strategically using umbrellas to protect themselves remarkable pictures and videos of the umbrella movement were shared around the world but the publicity only angered the CCP riot police increased physical Force leading to widespread injuries and arrests on one occasion JJ was arrested questioned and held for hours as protests continue to rage through 2019 and 2020 even Keo and his mom and dad join the demonstrations arrests criminal charges and injuries were in the thousands and the CCP placed heavy restrictions on freedom of speech some Hong Kong newspapers like the one James worked for who had tried to cover the protests fairly and honestly were forced to close and James and his fellow journalists all lost their jobs [Music] today demonstrations have vanished ccp's harsh crackdowns on protesters worked and those who disagree with the Communists are no longer safe to speak out publicly but Keo and his family aren't done standing up for their City and the one country two systems agreement you and JJ are two of a growing number of Freedom Fighters using video games to fight for Hong Kong's freedom the brothers create characters and role-playing games and use the gaming platforms as virtual meeting halls and message boards protesters can disguise themselves as Gamers and are able to share ideas and organize the CCP is aware of these new methods of communication and they are moving to shut them down but there are always new video games being made and there will always be kids like Keo who don't want to lose their rights so Hong Kong's fight for freedom goes on [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music]