"Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" (; also translated variously) 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 slogan underwent a resurgence in 2019 as Hongkongers started using it for the protests against Hong Kong's extradition bill, leading to international attention. Annie Zhang, the former editor in chief of Initium Media, said the slogan was a strong wish for an escalation of tactics and a revolution, stating the wish of protesters for "Hong Kong to become a Hong Kong for Hongkongers." In contrast, former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Tung Chee-hwa, pro-Beijing political parties, editor of the Global Times Hu Xijin, and Xinhua News Agency consider the slogan to involve Hong Kong independence and test the principle of "one country, two systems."
Beginning in July 2020, the Hong Kong government announced that anyone who uses the slogan can be prosecuted under the newly implemented national security law. In a landmark ruling a year later, the first person to be charged was found guilty for displaying a banner bearing the slogan. The court ruled that such display constituted incitement of others to commit secession.
Origin
"Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" was first suggested by Hong Kong localist camp activist Edward Leung as a slogan for social movements. Leung has continually advocated Hong Kong independence and localism and self-determination, considering Hong Kong to be a sovereign state, Hongkongers to be of the same group, and hoping to unite the "inner strength" of Hongkongers. At the press conference where Leung originally announced his bid for the 2016 New Territories East by-election, his campaign slogan was "Walk the talk, innovation for our generation" (). However, campaigners brainstormed another slogan in January 2016, as they considered the original slogan to be unable to attract voters to vote, alienating younger and older generations, and that its stance was not clear enough.
The term "liberate" () was first used by the Guangfuhui (Restoration Society), founded in Shanghai in 1904, and by the revolutionaries of the Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance), the predecessor to the Kuomintang. Its first use in Hong Kong's localist movement was in Reclaim Sheung Shui Station in 2012. In its early stages, Hong Kong Indigenous was most notable for its opposition to parallel trading in Hong Kong, and its series of "liberation protests" organised in 2015 in places like Tuen Mun, Sha Tin, Yuen Long and Sheung Shui in the New Territories. Thus, the use of the term "liberate" in its campaign slogan was to remind voters of the group's use of street resistance to advocate Hongkongers' rights. Although the by-election was held in the New Territories East constituency, "Liberate Hong Kong" was chosen over "Liberate New Territories East" () because the latter was more difficult to pronounce. The second half of the slogan was a modification of "generational innovation" in the original slogan, with "revolution" reflecting the group's political ideals and ideological position.
Between "revolution of our times" () and "revolution of our generation" (), Leung opted for "revolution of our times" as the campaign slogan to emphasise that innovation and change can be undertaken by people of all ages, and that it would not be a conflict between different generations because it only requested people to believe and embrace liberty. He also pointed out that a belief in liberty is enough to embrace a new generation, and that people should grasp and advocate for their future. At the same time, he also said that many people were unwilling to give in to totalitarianism and the existing political framework, believing that they can have a government for themselves. After his bid for the 2016 Hong Kong legislative election was disqualified, he said that Hong Kong had become a dictatorship, adding that revolution was the only solution to the situation at hand.
Translation variations Various English translations of the slogan have emerged since it became more widely used by anti-establishment protesters. The English version of Edward Leung's election platform used the translation "Ignite revolution to reclaim our Hong Kong, our age." Other variations include: "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time" "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times" "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age" "Free Hong Kong, revolution now" "Reclaim Hong Kong, revolution of our times"
Usage
2016 Legislative Council campaigns
In January 2016, Edward Leung announced his candidacy for the Legislative Council's New Territories East by-election, with the main purpose being the promotion of the ideologies of Hong Kong Indigenous and the localist camp. Previously, Hong Kong Indigenous suggested "Safeguarding local values with force" in order to achieve the goal of "My city, therefore I defend it." On 8 February the same year, after the Mong Kok civil unrest, Leung presented "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" and "Confronting violence with force" as campaign themes and slogans. The Registration and Electoral Office allowed "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" to be listed in Leung's election platform in their election guide, but refused to deliver his pamphlets for free because the Office considered the use of the terms "autonomy" and "self-rule" to be a "fundamental breach" of Article 1 of the Basic Law.
During the election, Leung advocated the stances of "Using force to resist violence" and "Liberate Hong Kong," leading to a polarised public opinion. Although forceful resistance and the Hong Kong independence movement attracted mainstream attention in Hong Kong, it also led to resistance from the Government of Hong Kong and the traditional pro-democracy camp. After his arrest following the Mong Kok civil unrest, his popularity increased, with many in the localist camp expressing support for him. He came third in the by-election, receiving 66,524 votes or 15.38% of the vote, of which the majority was from young voters. Subsequently, the radical localist camp in Hong Kong represented by Leung also received support from many young people.
In the LegCo election held later that year, Youngspiration also used "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" as their campaign slogan, naming three candidates including Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching. After the election, the localist camp faced severe restrictions on their ability to participate in politics, with both Leung and Yau being disqualified from LegCo in the oath-taking controversy, and the Hong Kong National Party, another localist group, being banned. In June 2018, the High Court sentenced Leung to six years imprisonment for taking part in a riot on the night of the unrest and assaulting a police officer during the protests, while acquitting him of inciting a riot.
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
During the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, protesters initially focused on opposing the introduction of the government-proposed extradition bill. At first, they used slogans such as "Be water," "No injury, no bleeding, no arrest; no disassociation, no snitching, no blaming," "We fight on, each in his own way," "Nobody left behind," etc. By mid-July, as the demonstrations had spread to more districts, the spectrum of protests widened, and the public had grown more tolerant of the use of force by protesters.
Around that time, more and more young people started reminiscing Edward Leung. Protesters stuck posters reading "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" on Lennon Walls in the districts of Sha Tin and Tai Po, sometimes with "Thank You Edward Leung" written next to the posters. Protesters also commonly used the colloquial Cantonese term "," which means "mutual destruction," as well as the slogan "If we burn, you burn with us." As the protests escalated and became more frequent, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" gained popularity as a slogan among protesters.
On 21 July, protesters stormed the China Liaison Office, chanting the slogan. At around 7:45 pm, protesters hurled eggs and ink balloons at the building, with some ink hitting the building's Chinese emblem. Police dispersed the crowd with tear gas and rubber bullets. In response, political parties and LegCo members of the pro-Beijing camp issued a joint statement, in which they said the behaviour of "liberation" and "revolution" promoted Hong Kong independence and were illegal acts against the Basic Law and the principle of one country, two systems.
Protesters organised a general strike and gatherings in seven districts on 5 August. On that day, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam condemned the slogan, saying that the slogan advocates revolution and challenges Chinese sovereignty. In response, many non-governmental organisations rebuked Lam's remarks as an attempt to defame the anti-extradition bill movement; for example, the Scholars' Alliance for Academic Freedom said that the slogan, which had been used in social movements since 2015, meant emphasising innovation and change and campaigning for rights via action; it did not carry a meaning of Hong Kong independence and did not ask for an actual revolution.
During the Hong Kong International Airport sit-ins held between 9 and 11 August, a protester unfurled a banner carrying the slogan (modified as "Liberate HK, Revolution Now") from a footbridge inside the airport terminal. Protesters at the scene cheered and clapped, chanting the slogan multiple times. Protesters jeered and aimed laser pointers at the banner in support when Airport Authority staff requested that the banner be removed.
The slogan is incorporated in the lyrics of "Glory to Hong Kong," a song created in August and soon became the anthem of the protests. When people gathered to sing the song in public, the slogan is often chanted after the song.
Hearthstone controversy
On 6 October 2019, during a post-match interview at the Hearthstone Grandmasters streaming event in Taiwan, Ng Wai Chung, a professional Hearthstone player and Hong Kong resident professionally known as "Blitzchung," donned a gas mask similar to those worn by Hong Kong protesters, and uttered the phrase "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" in Mandarin. Blitzchung's camera feed was cut off shortly after. The following day, Blizzard Entertainment, the developer of Hearthstone, announced that Blitzchung had been banned from the current tournament, forfeiting any prize money (approximately by that point), and was banned for any further Grandmasters tournaments for one year. Blitzchung stated in an interview afterwards that he had done the act of protest because "I put so much effort in that social movement in the past few months, that I sometimes couldn't focus on preparing my Grandmaster match." In addition, Blizzard terminated the contracts of the two stream casters who had been conducting the interview, "Virtual" and "Mr. Yee."