A brief overview of activist action in Hamilton

CW: mentions of violence and racism

2020 has been a rough – albeit transformative – year for everyone. From the pandemic to the racial injustices across North America that gained media attention to global emergencies such as the Beirut explosion or worsening of the Yemeni crisis, the world has lived through some of its worst times in recorded history.

However, in the midst of the anger and sadness, there have been sparks of spirit and action as activists took the summer of 2020 as a time to enact social change. From rallies to sit-ins, activists across the country, even at McMaster, have advocated for change. Whether it be fighting for a home country’s autonomy and nationhood, empowering marginalized communities in Canada or reclaiming land that was lost to colonization, summer 2020 was full of activism.

Pushing for Autonomy: Hong Kong’s Fight

In June 2019, protests took place across Hong Kong in response to plans to allow citizen extradition to mainland China. Although the bill that would allow for the extradition to occur was withdrawn in September, demonstrations continued as people demanded democracy and inquiries into police actions against protestors and activists. As police brutality against the citizens of Hong Kong became increasingly violent, many pro-independence activists are now seeking asylum in Canada as refugees. Canada has begun accepting these refugees into the country. 

The events unfolding in Hong Kong are heard here, on the other side of the globe, through media and first-hand accounts. Despite the physical distance between us, these issues directly affect and involve us, including students at McMaster.

McMaster Stands with Hong Kong is a student activist group that was founded last October. The mandate of the organization is to support and bring awareness to Hong Kongers in their fight against Chinese occupation, police brutality and to support all refugees seeking asylum in Canada. This past summer, the organization engaged in multiple acts of activism.

In May, Mac-HK opposed the Student Success Centre’s decision to post a Hong Kong police job on their student website, which yielded significant results as the Student Success Centre quietly deleted the post. In August, Mac-HK co-organized an event in downtown Toronto with other universities that called out Chinese influence and actions in Hong Kong and the need for Canada to protect Hong Kongers’ safety here. In September, Mac-HK co-organized a rally for Status for All, a rally focusing on giving status to international students, refugees, farmers and workers, who were all particularly affected socially and financially by the pandemic. 

These acts from McMaster students are a reminder that what happens across the world affects us right here in Canada and at McMaster. 

Fighting Social Injustice: Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter: this sentence and movement have been gaining traction since its use as a hashtag on social media after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin in July 2013. This year, the movement reached a peak in traction and recognition following the shootings of Black men and women, including the murder of George Floyd in May.

An international fight against systemic racism and police brutality in the form of rallies, protests and petitions took center stage. In response to police brutality, many organizations seeking to fight systemic racism and police brutality in North America have emerged, some of them right here in Hamilton.

HWDSB Kids Need Help is an organization that was formed by Hamilton students, including some who currently attend McMaster University. The organization seeks to support the rights of high school students, particularly those from marginalized communities, in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and oppose police presence.

In February 2020, HWDSB Kids Need Help assisted in a report that requested the termination of the HWDSB police school liaison program. The program supported the presence of six officers at 38 secondary schools and five officers in a partnership with 158 elementary schools. This presence was meant to prevent crime, but HWDSB Kids Need Help researched and outlined the impact of the program. After a summer of activism, the motion to terminate the police school liaison program was passed

Reclaiming Land: Land Back Camp

Today, Indigenous people continue to face systemic oppression as a result of colonialism in many forms. In response to this, many movements fighting against land occupation have come about.

One example is Land Back Camp, which was set up in June in Kitchener’s Victoria Park. The camp was set up to reclaim land that was once a central hub of activity and life for Nations such as the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.

Beyond existing as a way to reclaim land and send a political message to authorities, the camp is said to connect young Indigenous adults to their culture and offer youth and two-spirited people a place where they feel more at home.

Movements like Land Back Camp that occur so close to home offer an opportunity for students to reflect on their role in supporting Indigenous communities.

Although social issues can often appear abstract or distant, it is important to remember that our neighbours and peers are actively shaping and defining change in our society. Large-scale issues manifest in one way or another within our school and communities and it is important not to disregard them, but to rather acknowledge the efforts local activists are putting in catalyzing change.

This article is the first in a series on the many acts, events and movements of activism from summer 2020.

By criminalizing global activism, Hong Kong’s security law is a serious threat to not only Hong Kong international students, but all McMaster students.

By: Mark Choi*, Contributor

*Names and identifying details have been altered to protect the privacy of individuals*

The words that you are reading right now could land me in prison for life.

This may seem absurd — life imprisonment for writing a political opinion in a newspaper. However, as a Hong Kong international student, this is a very real risk that I face under China’s sweeping new Hong Kong security law.

In June, the Chinese government imposed a draconian national security law upon Hong Kong after months of pro-democracy demonstrations. The law criminalizes vague offenses such as “subversion” or “collusion with foreign forces” and establishes a new secret police unit for its enforcement. This bloodless coup has been internationally condemned as a desecration of Hong Kong’s treaty-guaranteed autonomy.

This crackdown on dissent is unprecedented. Hundreds were rounded up the first day the law came into force. Books are being banned, educators are being purged and political persecution is on the rise. The first political figure arrested under the law was 19-year-old student Tony Chung, who now faces up to life in prison for allegedly writing subversive posts on Facebook.

For Hong Kong international students at McMaster University, this law is terrifying. It severely restricts what we are able to say or do. The law’s offenses are intentionally vague, in order to encourage self-censorship.

The security law also imperils other outspoken McMaster students: Article 38 of the law says it covers literally everyone on Earth. This means anybody at McMaster — not just those with Hong Kong citizenship — risks prosecution simply for criticizing the Chinese government. In fact, the first foreign national hit with an arrest warrant through Article 38 is activist Samuel Chu, an American citizen based in California; more such warrants are likely coming.

For Hong Kong international students at McMaster University, this law is terrifying. It severely restricts what we are able to say or do. The law’s offenses are intentionally vague, in order to encourage self-censorship. The security law also imperils other outspoken McMaster students: Article 38 of the law says it covers literally everyone on Earth.

Canada has even issued an official travel warning for Hong Kong. Canadians transiting through Hong Kong’s airport now risk arbitrary detention and life imprisonment for “activities that are not considered illegal in Canada and that occurred outside of Hong Kong”.

Faculty and students at McMaster who are interested in issues deemed politically sensitive by the Chinese government must now choose between permanently avoiding Hong Kong, or dropping such research altogether. In other words, the security law’s extraterritorial overreach degrades academic freedom at McMaster.

Additionally, as a student activist at McMaster, I have previously spoken up about Hong Kong. In May, other Hongkonger students and I successfully lobbied the Student Success Centre to take down job postings for the Hong Kong Police Force.

I also want to spend time supporting others who similarly experience oppression, such as Uyghurs experiencing genocide in China’s concentration camps, and protests against police violence and systemic anti-Black racism right here at McMaster. Our struggles are not solitary sojourns — rather, we get strength from solidarity with one another.

Unfortunately, while this is what I want to do, such activism will make me a target. Until now, Hong Kong had been a vibrant hub for social justice organizers, queer folks and climate activists focused on China. However, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both recently warned that such activism is now seriously threatened by the security law.

After all, the security law criminalizes more than just pro-democracy slogans, it criminalizes dissent. The Hong Kong government, having lost all political legitimacy, now relies solely on its state security apparatus to maintain power. In such a scenario, a free society is inherently an existential threat.

McMaster therefore needs to strengthen academic freedom and space for student activism. There should be particular focus on safety for international students who will not be based in Canada for the online Fall 2020 term.

For starters, McMaster should ban the institutional use of Zoom and use more secure platforms instead, such as Teams (which we already pay for). McMaster’s security guidelines for Zoom are, disappointingly, unabashedly ignorant of the fact that not all students will be based in Canada for Fall 2020. For Hong Kong students like myself, we could find ourselves prosecuted for participating in political discussions online if McMaster does not take our safety seriously.

1/4 We are urging @McMasterU and other Ontario universities to STOP using #Zoom for online learning!

Zoom’s facilitation of Chinese gov’t censorship & surveillance makes it a serious threat to student safety.

Please sign our joint petition here! https://t.co/0gEoLi2aQT pic.twitter.com/UezRheUCf3

— McMaster Stands with Hong Kong 😷 (@McMaster_SWHK) July 20, 2020

McMaster also needs to improve safety for student activists. Last May, three students were ticketed while protesting on campus. This kind of harassment creates a chilling effect, as the threat of police violence discourages students from organizing. Instead of deterring student activism, McMaster should be actively facilitating it.

As Hongkongers face down a grim, authoritarian future — one where political persecution, arbitrary arrest and torture in police detention go from the exception to the norm — I feel conflicted.

On one hand, the danger to me and my family is real. In mainland China, the Chinese Communist Party silences dissent by not only targeting activists, but also their families. However, the state wants to silence us due to fear — fear of what we would say if Hong Kong was truly free. For that reason alone, we Hongkongers must keep speaking.

Photo by Cindy Cui/ Photo Editor

* Names and identifying details have been altered to protect the privacy of individuals*

The Oct. 22 Lennon Wall demonstration at McMaster was intended to raise awareness for the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill protests happening in Hong Kong and to express solidarity with  Hong Kong protestors. An individual interrupted the demonstration  at around 4 p.m. and attempted to damage the signs on the Lennon Wall and remove protestors’ face masks.

However, there is a consensus — both among those who support the cause and those who do not — that what happened on Oct. 22 is much bigger than a one-time event. 

In the days since, the incident has raised issues of inaction, censorship and the isolation of international students on campus. 

One of the demonstrators, Cameron*, called the altercation a clear attempt to use violence and intimidation to silence the protest. Jamie, another demonstrator, pointed to a pattern designed to silence protesters who are supporting the democracy movement in Hong Kong, which has been demonstrated by incidents in Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Queensland. 

Leslie*, a student from the Chinese mainland, disapproved of how the individual who disrupted the demonstration expressed their disagreement. 

“Instead of tearing things down, [the individual] should have called the campus police in the first place, and ask them to check this masked protest,” said Leslie.

Alex, another student from the Chinese mainland, maintains that the Oct. 22 incident did not undermine anyone’s freedom of speech. They assert that the individual who interfered with the demonstration was justified in being upset, as the content of the protest dealt with separatist activities, which are frowned upon in China. Alex believes that since there was this justification, the individual’s actions were not against anyone’s freedom of speech.

“If you want me to try to understand why that student committed this so-called violent action, I would only say if I were him, I would be doing that because I'm not content, I'm feeling even offended by the way they did that, the Hong Kong protesters on our campus,” said Alex. 

Leslie acknowledges both sides of the problem. They believe that what the individual did was not civil — but that neither is wearing masks and promoting what Leslie perceives to be violence committed by the protesters in Hong Kong. Leslie refers to the masks as a symbol of the “anonymous violence” happening in Hong Kong. 

Leslie and Alex also highlighted a difference in beliefs that render the situation even more complex. While the Oct. 22 situation happened within McMaster’s campus, it may point to differences in upbringing that go beyond our campus’s walls. 

Alex deplores the instinct of many Canadian locals to generalize international students from the Chinese mainland, adding that there is a misunderstanding between the mainland students and other people on campus. Alex believes that this generalization fails to consider how different Canadian norms are for those who did not grow up with Western ideologies. 

“[Someone said] ‘Oh, the Chinese students, they are so used to the government telling them what to do … so when they are outside China, they don't know what to do so they have to contact their government. They have to let the government tell them what to do.’ Well, first off, that is damn wrong … Sometimes, we just feel very lonely in our power of speech. We've been isolated by Western media stuff … We're definitely not used to the so-called liberal, democratic way of saying something. When there's a problem, we go solve that. We don't go on [the] street, we don't go on any form of protest … Here [in Canada], whoever has the bigger voice wins,” Alex said.

Leslie believes that Canadians’ belief in Western liberal democracy prevents them from entertaining other political ideologies and from carrying out dialogue with those who come from the mainland of China without  the use of words such as “dictatorship” or “authoritarian”. 

One SRA member pointed out that the Lennon Wall incident violated the McMaster Student Code of Conduct, which protects students’ right to safety and security. The Code is meant to ensure an environment free from intimidation and discrimination, and to protect students’ right to security of their personal property. It also condemns threats and acts of vandalism — labels that the demonstrators have attached to the individual who initiated the altercation. 

In an SRA meeting on Nov. 3, the McMaster Lennon Wall demonstrators urged the SRA to release a public statement. 

“We just hope [the SRA] will speak up for vulnerable students who face violence on campus by releasing a public statement and speak up for our rights … We hope that you will stand in solidarity with us, as demonstrators whose rights to safely protest and dissent on campus were violated,” they declared.

In response, the SRA promised to release a statement regarding the Oct. 22 demonstration.

Since then, MSU president Josh Marando has published a statement through his president’s page on The Silhouette. He affirmed the MSU’s support of the students’ right to protest peacefully and exist safely on campus.

“The MSU is always working towards creating a safer and more inclusive environment for students. As such, actions, activities or attitudes that work against that notion should not have a place in our campus discourse,” said Marando.

The McMaster administration also provided a statement. Gord Arbeau, director of communications at McMaster, emphasized the importance of conducting a thorough investigation. 

McMaster security, who were called to the demonstration after the incident took place, are conducting an investigation.. Only when the investigation is complete can the university determine what policies are relevant and what further actions, if any, are needed. The Code might be one of the policies considered, should further action be required.

“Thankfully, these types of incidents are rare on our campus,” added Arbeau. 

However rare such incidents may be, Cameron believes that a statement of support from the university could have a large impact.  

“McMaster’s name is a big deal, and if they legitimize what we're doing, then that means a lot to certain people. That means that the institution has put their faith in us as a cause,” said Cameron. 

Cameron added that the altercation during the Oct. 22 Lennon Wall demonstration should not be seen as an isolated incident, but rather as a part of a systemic problem in which protesters are silenced through violence and intimidation. Jamie also agrees that silence and inaction are dangerous when the issue is so deeply rooted. 

“This should not be treated as just a one-off incident. I think the university and the McMaster Students Union needs to realize that there was a more systemic issue here as well and therefore also develop more long term solutions as possible,” said Jamie.

Jamie, Cameron and the other demonstrators are not giving up on protests any time soon. They want protestors  in Hong Kong to know they are not alone, that there are students that stand with them. 

“There's a perception that Canada is very far away from Hong Kong [and] maybe it doesn't matter so much, but we want to say ‘Hold on a second, no, it does matter’. It matters because there's lots of Canadians living in Hong Kong. There's lots of Hong Kong students here at McMaster,” Jamie explained.

The demonstrators’ ultimate ideal goal is to educate people about the protests in Hong Kong and for McMaster students to understand enough about Hong Kong to show support and solidarity. 

“Us [students] here in Canada, we're lucky we don't have to live with the consequences of what of what we're doing, right? And so the most important thing to us is for every single person to fully understand the situation unfolding in the city across the sea,” said Cameron.

We were violently attacked during our peaceful campus demonstration, but we refuse to be forced into silence

By: Oct. 22 Hong Kong demonstrators

Cw: mention of violence

To many, the words “Hong Kong” spark images of a cosmopolitan city, a glimmering skyline or a financial powerhouse. But to us, these words represent the Spirit of the Lion Rock burning within the soul of every Hongkonger — the generations of blood, sweat and tears shed in the dream of a land where we can prosper. These words mean home. And our home must be protected.

We are the demonstrators who assembled in Mills plaza last Tuesday, Oct. 22 to peacefully spread awareness about police violence and authoritarianism in Hong Kong, as well as call for freedom and democracy. We set up a Lennon Wall — a form of collaborative protest art where people write messages of encouragement and solidarity on a wall of colourful post-it notes — and engaged with people who stopped to chat with us. In the name of the rights and freedoms which we hold dear, we stood with our hearts on our sleeves and flyers in our hands, ready to speak to any and all who would listen.

However, to our dismay, a group of individuals decided to respond to our peaceful demonstration with vitriol. One person tore down our Lennon Wall, assaulted us by ripping off our masks and threatened that “next time, this won’t be so easy”. Meanwhile, others cheered them on, jeering at us in Mandarin and shouting crude insults.

However, to our dismay, a group of individuals decided to respond to our peaceful demonstration with vitriol. One person tore down our Lennon Wall, assaulted us by ripping off our masks and threatened that “next time, this won’t be so easy”.

Their response to civility was aggression, talking was replaced with shouting and peace was answered with violence. The physical violence and wanton aggression that we faced was a harrowing attempt to intimidate us into silence and to stop us from speaking freely about the situation in Hong Kong.

It was also a solemn reminder of why we wore masks in the first place. Without anonymity during protests in our city, Hongkongers are much more vulnerable to arrest and intimidation by others, including pro-government paid thugs, employers and political opponents. In encounters with the police, Hongkongers have been exposed to horrific violence: beatings that leave people with shattered bones, torture, sexual violence in police stations and even permanent blindness after being shot in the eye.

This is why we treasure anonymity and wore masks in solidarity during our protest. To have someone violently attack us by tearing apart our signs and clawing at our faces to unmask us was a terrifying reminder of what we’re fighting against and the stakes at hand should we lose.

These stakes are the highest that Hong Kong has faced in the past century. Currently, Hongkongers enjoy rights and freedoms unheard of in Mainland China. However, since the 1997 Handover, the Chinese government has sought to restrict our freedoms. This is being done by mirroring oppressive practices from the Mainland, where citizens can only access Communist Party-approved information, where any criticism of the government often leads to imprisonment and where millions of Uyghurs are incarcerated in torture-ridden concentration camps. As Hongkongers brave the frontlines in the global fight for freedom and as we yearn for a taste of the democracy that we were promised by the British and Chinese governments which we’ve since been denied, we hope that others will bear witness to our struggle and listen to the voices of the oppressed.

To other students at McMaster University: we hope you will stand in solidarity with us. When we return — and we certainly will — we ask you to please drop by and stick a post-it note on our Lennon Wall, or chat with us to learn more about Hong Kong. If you have friends of Hong Kong origin, be sure to reach out and support them.

To the university administration and the McMaster Students Union: we call upon those in positions of power to uphold our right to peaceful protest and ensure student safety. No student should be physically assaulted for peacefully demonstrating on campus. The University should ensure that our right to assemble on campus is protected and the MSU must publicly speak out and defend the marginalized students who face violence in retaliation for exercising our basic rights.

To the university administration and the McMaster Students Union: we call upon those in positions of power to uphold our right to peaceful protest and ensure student safety.

The harassment at McMaster eerily echoes similar violence elsewhere, such as at the University of Queensland, where pro-Beijing students punched and shoved those who supported Hong Kong’s right to freedom and democracy. We would prefer to have an open discussion about Hong Kong issues, but this is difficult if those living in China’s propaganda bubble refuse to believe facts reported by the international media and also try to silence rather than engage with us.

We are doing our best to support the brave people back home in our struggle to uphold the values which we hold dear. We cannot block the bullets, nor can we rinse the tear gas from their eyes. But we can speak. We can remind the world that Hong Kong is dying and that Hongkongers around the world are desperately trying to safeguard our home. We can show the people in the streets that the world has not forgotten about them.

The upheaval in Hong Kong these past weeks is a number of things: brutal, saddening, and terrifying, but simple is not one of them.  As someone who called Hong Kong my home for a good part of my childhood, it’s easy to say the umbrella revolution is about Hong Kong citizens’ fighting for democracy and that what China is doing is completely wrong. Yet, that stance is a very narrow Western point of view. These recent events actually reflect the culmination of years of growing tension between the parties.

Many people forget that the novel and incomplete democracy Hong Kong possesses was given by the Chinese government in 1997 when Britain returned the colony to China out of desperation. As China grew to become the superpower it is today, Hong Kong prospered and received much of the economic and cultural benefits as it served as the gateway to China. Citizens retain the right to demonstrate, and the legal system is still rooted in British law.

The root of the issue is the impossibility of “one country, two systems.” As Hong Kong became a financial hub, its importance to China increased, and China needed complete control. This was imperative, for Hong Kong constantly criticized the central government while being content to prosper under their rule and ignore China’s large underdeveloped rural population. So the Chinese government did what it does best – slowly screen out critics through coercion and dirty tactics.

The chief executives of Hong Kong, screened and supported by the central government, consult Beijing before making decisions. Prior to their discussions, Beijing outlines what it wants, so no matter where the discussion goes Beijing always gets what it wants. It’s sort of like negotiating with your parents. You might get some playtime, but you are definitely eating your vegetables.

The government has also tried to implement patriotic education as well as interfere with the press. While these efforts have ramped up recently, the truth is China could not have hidden their agenda through the years – citizens have simply, for the most part, been passive.

The change in behaviour began as more Chinese citizens became filthy rich over the past decade due to urbanization in China. As China is mostly underdeveloped, hordes of millionaires flooded Hong Kong because they needed a classy place to make it rain. The change was dramatic when I visited Hong Kong two years ago. All employees spoke Mandarin as opposed to just Cantonese. When my family visited Louis Vuitton, we were barely paid any attention. They knew we weren’t the ones who would buy a LV suitcase to carry all the other LV items purchased. Land prices soared to unprecedented levels. In short, Hong Kong citizens were getting pushed out. This resentment is made stronger by the fact that Hong Kong has always considered the rural Chinese population to be uncivilized.

Given Mainland China’s political landscape, and Hong Kong’s history, it was inevitable that we would reach this point. The mistake us bystanders make is to talk about democracy as an ideal and guarantee for Hong Kong. What we should get riled up about is the underhand approach China is taking. If you’re going to rescind your promise, at least nut up and admit your intentions.

Photo Credit: AP PHOTO/ASSOCIATED PRESS