Hong Kong protesters waved American flags and belted out the Star-Spangled Banner in a Thanksgiving day rally on Thursday night celebrating the signing of the United States’ Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.
The act is a show of support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong that have been going on for the past six months and was drafted, passed, and signed into law despite protests and threats from Beijing.
Approval was given for several large rallies on Thursday evening including one at Edinburgh Place where a number of notable pro-democracy voices took the stage to speak including Joshua Wong who visited the US in September to press for the legislation.
Check out some photos and footage of the rallies below:
The night after the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act is passed, #Hongkong people gathered and celebrated this bitter victory amid the prolonged movement. The bill is a thanksgiving present for HongKong—it encourages us to keep fighting for democracy.#DemocracyNow pic.twitter.com/8E88qewXy2
— Nathan Law 羅冠聰 😷 (@nathanlawkc) November 28, 2019
A parade of U.S. flags as #hongkong rally plays messages of support from U.S. lawmakers pic.twitter.com/q1LTzOhK3T
— Annie Wu (@annieeenyc) November 28, 2019
Hong Kong protesters hold Thanksgiving Day rally to express gratitude to the U.S. after President Trump signs bills backing them https://t.co/J41RJw1I1V pic.twitter.com/LiY4zgnf32
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 28, 2019
A sea of US flags is being waved at Edinburgh Place, as activists involved in speaking in Washington — including Denise Ho, Joshua Wong and Sunny Cheung — are set to speak.#hongkong pic.twitter.com/9nOPn9Sll9
— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) November 28, 2019
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act mandates that the US Secretary of State certify at least once a year whether Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to qualify for special US trading considerations.
Hong Kong is treated as fully autonomous for trade and economic matters, meaning that the former British colony is exempt from Trump’s tariffs against China. The status helps to bolster the city as one of the world’s top financial hubs.
After Trump signed the act into law, China’s foreign ministry issued a statement accusing the US government of “disregarding facts and distorting truth” while meddling in Hong Kong in an attempt to disrupt the “great renewal” of the Chinese nation.
Chinese state media have frequently accused foreign forces of fanning the flames of discontent in Hong Kong, even blaming such interference for this week’s landslide result in the city’s district elections.
