Activists and artists taking part in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests used artwork, painting, music, and other forms of artistic expression as a tactic to help spread awareness about the events that have happened in the city. Individuals who create protest art are commonly referred to as the "publicity group" (). Creating protest art is seen as a peaceful, alternative way for citizens to express their views without participating in protests. Most members work under pseudonyms to protect their identity and stay in line with the movement's leaderless nature.
During the protests, numerous original artworks inspired by pop culture and fine arts, as well as derivative works were created. They served as subversive criticisms of the police and the government, and offered comedic relief during tense times. Much of Hong Kong's protest artwork was inspired by Japanese anime and favoured dystopic and anti-authoritarian themes. Several notable protesters, Pepe the Frog, and Lady Liberty Hong Kong became icons of the protests. In addition, the protests have inspired the creation of "Glory to Hong Kong", which was then adopted as the movement's unofficial anthem.
The protest art in Hong Kong helped sustain the momentum of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests due to its creativity and its distribution methods. It was widely distributed using social media channels like AirDrop and Telegram, while printed posters were plastered on Lennon Walls. These protest artworks were then re-disseminated through photos of Lennon Walls shared online. These distribution methods created a level of fluidity that was previously unseen in Hong Kong. Some of the protest arts, such as crowdfunded advertisements, helped draw international attention, while performative protests such as flash mob singing of Glory to Hong Kong at shopping malls created iconic and viral moments during the protest movement.
Literary art Cantonese wordplay Due to the existence of homophones in Cantonese, Hong Kong's language allows great potential for wordplay. Replacing characters with similar tones or pitch patterns can significantly change a phrase's meaning. An early slang term for the protest, "sending to China" (), which is a homonym for "to see off a dying relative", quickly gained attention. Another popular slang term "Railway of the Communist Party" () is a wordplay of MTR Corporation because they sound phonetically similar. To deter online trolls and alleged Chinese spies monitoring the forum, some netizens communicated using phonetically spelled Cantonese words, which are difficult for mainland Chinese to understand. A variety of Cantonese slang also developed during the protest; for instance, when protesters recount the events of their "dreams" (), they are recounting their experiences during the protests. When protesters deploy "fire magic" (), they are throwing petrol bombs. When a protester chants "it is raining" (), fellow protesters will unfurl their umbrellas to hide the group in action. Fellow protesters were called "hands and feet" (), which conveyed the idea of unity.
Protesters also ridiculed statements by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the police. According to the Japan Times, "the legions of tech-savvy youngsters never miss an opportunity to invent new chants, memes, banners and slogans that often turn the criticism against the movement on its head". As a result, the protests led to the creation of caustic memes such as "reporter your mother" () and "freedom hai" (), which mocked the police's use of profanity against reporters and protesters respectively. The latter phrase is derogatory because the word "hai" is one of "the five great Cantonese profanities" but the protesters embraced the term with pride then turned them into WhatsApp stickers and printed them on T-shirts and banners. Artists created a variation of the "Bingo" mini-game that allows people to guess what Lam may say during a press conference to mock her condemnations of the protests; Lam often used the same set of words or four-character idioms to describe the protest.
Common themes and slogans
Guiding principles
The Hong Kong protesters have created a variety of slogans to raise awareness and express their solidarity; these were chanted during mass marches and from their apartments at 10:00 pm as part of the "Million Scream" campaign. The slogans were generally used to express dissatisfaction with the government, boost morale, reiterate demands and the key principles of the movement. They included the following:
"Hongkongers, add oil" (); initially a rallying cry for the protesters to encourage each other and to gain strength and support, the slogan changed to "Hongkongers, resist" following the implementation of the anti-mask ban. As protests continued to escalate, it changed to "Hongkongers, revenge" () following the death of Chow Tsz-lok. "Five Demands, Not One Less" (); a slogan used to iterate the protesters' five core demands and affirm their determination not to stop until the government met all of them. It was often used during the protests but especially after Mayor Carrie Lam agreed to answer one demand by withdrawing the extradition bill. "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times" (); first introduced by pro-independence activist Edward Leung as his campaign theme for the Legislative Council by-election in 2016, the slogan gained more popularity as the protests escalated. Lam said the protests were a series of separatist riots though Ma Ngok, a political scientist at Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the slogan has much room for interpretation and its rise in popularity was due mainly to people's belief the authorities have lost their moral basis of power. Election officers asked several candidates standing for the District Council election the meaning of the slogan before they validated their qualification. Following the passing of the National Security Law by the NPCSC for Hong Kong, the HKSAR government declared that anyone shouting or displaying this slogan may have breached the law. Protesters have since found workarounds and created other alternatives. "We go up and down together" (); following several suicides, the protesters have chanted this rallying cry to raise people's mental-health awareness and express unity among themselves. There were also several slogans that fostered solidarity within the protester camp, including "no splitting and no severing of ties" (), and "brothers climbing mountains, each offering one's efforts" (). A hyperbolic version of the former slogan emerged following the Airport protests in mid August, with protesters declaring that they would not severe ties "even with a nuclear blast" (）. "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong"; the slogan was used to call for the international community, the US in particular, to support the ongoing protest movement. When Daryl Morey tweeted his support, China temporarily suspended all NBA broadcasts. "There are no rioters, there's only a tyrannical regime" (); after police characterised the protest on 12 June as a riot, protesters demanded the government retract the classification.
Slogans influenced by pop culture and social media Protesters have often taken inspiration from historical events and pop culture. This includes:
"Give me liberty or give me death!", from Patrick Henry's speech during the American Revolution. "If we burn, you burn with us", a quotation from Suzanne Collins's 2010 novel Mockingjay; the latter phrase was among the graffiti sprayed during the storming of the Legislative Council Complex on 1 July 2019. Analysts believed it reflects the more desperate tone of the protests compared with that of the Umbrella Revolution and the laam chaudoctrine. "Save our Hong Kong by ourselves" (). A similar quote "Save our country by ourselves" () was originally used in a Taiwanese social movement when China initiated a sovereignty claim on Taiwan. The quote was then appropriated by Hong Kong protestors and first used in the annual protest on 1 July 2014.
Nicknames Protesters frequently call members of the police force "dogs", "triads", "popo", and "Black Police". Police officers have called the protesters "cockroaches". Graffiti that cursed the police has also been depicted.
Counter-protesters and pro-Beijing activists have widely circulated the slogan "I support Hong Kong police, you can hit me now" () on Sina Weibo after protesters cornered and assaulted a reporter from the Global Times at Hong Kong International Airport on 13 August 2019. After Liu Yifei shared the phrase on her Weibo page, there were calls to boycott her upcoming film Mulan.
Literature Hong Kong-based Australian lawyer–author Antony Dapiran penned a book entitled City on Fire. His prologue, called "City of Tears", describes how police had unleashed in excess of 16,000 canisters of tear gas during the protests, including more than 2,330 on a single day in November. It begins: "Tear gas rounds describe a graceful arc as they drop down out of the blue sky, trailing feathery tails of smoke like streamers".
Visual art Protests-influenced artwork Protesters create posters to promote upcoming protests and rallies that sometimes serve as subversive criticism of the police, the government, and others. They are sometimes meant to provide light, comedic relief by satirising recent events. Art is also created to show the unity among protesters, encourage fellow activists, and raise mental-health awareness. Posters are seen as a peaceful, alternative way for citizens to express their views without participating in protests. Most artists remain anonymous or used a pseudonym in line with the movement's leaderless nature. Ideas for their designs were crowdsourced using the forum LIHKG, where users vote for the best for wide distribution, typically via Lennon Walls erected throughout the city, Telegram's channels and Apple's AirDrop features. Satirical images and caricatures of political figures, in particular Carrie Lam, were very common, as artists vented their frustration and anger through producing these drawings. One of the more notable images was a parody of My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love, which replaces the original characters with Lam and Xi Jinping.
Protesters have typically adopted the Japanese anime art style. The themes of some Japanese anime also resonated with the protesters, as the narratives of these anime mirror the situation in Hong Kong. For instance, arts inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion became popular among the artists as it revolves around idealistic teenagers who rise up to challenge adults who are perceived to be corrupt, echoing the situation in Hong Kong. One Pieces emphasis on unity also made it an inspiration when the artists were creating posters to urge citizens to stay united and not to sever ties with the more radical protesters. TV producer Peter Tsi added that Japanese pop culture had a profound influence on youths who were born following the handover of Hong Kong. Values in these anime shows, such as "upholding one's ideals, resistance to authorities, and unity", as well as resisting "hypocritical, corrupted, and selfish" adults or superiors, became deep-rooted in young people's minds.
Inspiration was taken from various other pop culture media. When the Student Union president of the Hong Kong Baptist University was arrested for possessing laser pointers, described by the police as "laser guns," protesters created a series of posters incorporating a variety of Star Wars themes and elements such as lightsabers.