1) What is happening in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is a city of 7 million people at the southern border of China. It was once a free, vibrant city where people enjoyed rights unavailable to people in mainland China (e.g. freedom of press, freedom of speech). Now China is changing Hong Kong’s laws to remove these freedoms in an effort to silence all opposition.

Millions of Hong Kongers protested against these changes for months. There were multiple allegations of unchecked police brutality. To date, more than 10,000 people have been arrested, from students and scholars to lawmakers and businessmen.

Due to the pandemic, there are no more mass protests. But the arrests have continued. Now many Hong Kongers live in fear and silence. Others are fleeing to countries such as the UK, USA, Australia and Germany.

We strive to fight for the rights and freedoms of all Hong Kongers. We invite all people who value democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of press and justice to join with us.

2) Why is this a concern for Germany?

What is happening in Hong Kong shows that the Chinese government cannot tolerate free speech and democracy, anywhere. Chinese agents have been reported to intimate Hong Kong activists overseas, including in Germany. Therefore, China is a threat to democracies and freedom of speech everywhere, not only in Hong Kong. All nations that value democracy and freedom of speech should stand together to condemn governments that use laws to forcibly silence their own people. 

Second, it shows that the Chinese government does not honour its international obligations. Hong Kongers were promised democracy and an unchanged way of life for 50 years under “one country two systems” and the Sino-British Joint Declaration with the UK. This has now been completely breached. Given this, can Germany expect China to abide by any other international agreements? 

3) What can we do?

You can join our organisation and help us campaign for Hong Kongers’ freedoms!

We work to raise awareness of events in Hong Kong to people in Germany and petition the German government for actions that can help Hong Kongers in Germany and abroad. We can also:

  • Help Hong Kongers who have moved to Germany learn about their new country and learn German.
  • Urge Germany to unite with democracies who hold similar values in condemning China’s actions. For example, we should make it clear to our leaders that we do not find it acceptable for German companies to make deals with Chinese companies that use forced labour.
  • Share correct information about current events in Hong Kong, telling the story from the point of view of Hong Kong people, to counter misinformation and censorship by the Chinese government.
  • Share Hong Kongers’ culture and language with Germans to keep our unique identity as Hong Kongers alive.

4) What are the benefits of joining?

  • Join a community of like-minded individuals to stand with Hong Kong!
  • Find out about local protests and other actions we are taking to help Hong Kongers
  • Find out about social events for Hong Kongers in Germany (e.g. Lunar New Year)
  • Get priority access to language events to practice your German, Cantonese or English with native speakers!
  • Get discounts on our merchandise
  • Get free a VPN and cloud account for storing e.V. related information

We also strive to help our members with any problems they may have as new arrivals in Germany.